CHICAGO - Like a sleazy midnight appointment, the trade papers were quietly sent to the league office on Monday afternoon, a typically slow news day.
The hope, perhaps, was that when the news breaks the following morning, the one-sided swap can somehow fly under the radar while PBA fans are distracted with gushing over the Commissioner's Cup Finals between Ginebra and the Bay Area Dragons.
Nice try on that shade of PR chicanery, Terrafirma Dyip.
READ: Terrafirma giving up another No. 1 pick in Manzon trade to NorthPort
But we all noticed the deed you did anyway.
And it's impossible not to because you are giving up a former No. 1 pick in Joshua Munzon, plus a fine asset in Javi Gomez de Liano, to NorthPort in exchange for what amounts only to ancillary pieces.
I called and sent multiple messages to PBA commissioner Willie Marcial seeking comment prior to posting this piece. I heard nothing back except the beautiful sound of silence.
But I understand why Marcial has no need to explain this garbage to the media. By passing the buck to the so-called trade committee, which will decide the trade's fate, Kume has plausible deniability.
WHAT ABOUT VETO POWER?
Even if Marcial has this option, I have doubts he will use it.
After sitting courtside on those stiff folding chairs during these finals, I fear that Marcial may have lost his backbone, assuming he was still allowed to have one the moment the PBA gods gifted him the commissioner's post.
That being said, it's now up to the study group to act as the league's watchdog and deny this proposal. One doesn't have to be a mental giant to realize that this trade defies common sense and bends logic.
I'm not holding my breath that the study group will do the right thing, and neither should you.
When it comes to giving away their No. 1 picks to SMC teams, Terrafirma is a repeat offender that must be stopped to protect the integrity of the league.
But apparently, the Commissioner's Office does not exist to comfort the jilted feelings of an angry fan base. It's there, it seems, to only look after the happiness of the rich teams from SMC and the MVP Group.
In a comment he wrote on the Facebook page of SPIN.ph, one of over 1,300 comments the trade story generated, reader Dave Filomeno theorized why Terrafirma keeps hemorrhaging blue-chip talents.
"Terrafirma cannot pay any of their top players and draftees after their rookie scale contracts," he said.
POINT TAKEN
If that's the case Terrafirma deserves our pity for not having the appropriate marketing budget to afford max players.
However, the Dyip has an obligation to put up a competitive team and if they can't make a bigger commitment to continue to exist in the PBA, they should stop trying to keep up with the Joneses and get out.
Sell your franchise to Chooks-to-Go, a passionate, basketball promoting entity. Terrafirma can also sell its stake to another willing buyer, Jacob Lao, heir apparent to a vast fortune and eager to spend it for a loaded basketball team.
But the Dyip won't sell. They are having too much fun wrecking the PBA.
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