CHICAGO - The July 2024 trade that sent Stephen Holt, Isaac Go and a draft pick that Ginebra used to select RJ Abarrietos was the last straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.
Giving the Gin Kings two studs in their prime plus a rookie gem in exchange for older stars on the last legs of their fabulous careers - Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle - was incomprehensible.
The only thing sillier than the one-sided PBA swap was the insistence of team manager Ronad Tubid's stand that the trade favored Terrafirma.
READ PBA talking with 3 new buyers after Terrafirma-Starhorse deal falls through
"We want to win now," Tubid told me in a telephone interview on the night the news broke.
Excluding the ongoing Philippine Cup, Terrafrina has won just two games combined in the Governors' and Commissioner's Cup.since Holt and Go were gift-wrapped and handed a get-out-jail-pass from the sorry franchise,
And Standhardinger, whom Tubid fawned over as a veteran with championship pedigree, is no longer with the team. Apparently tired of losing, C-Stan left max money on the table and "retired."
HOPE DIDN'T SPRING ETERNAL
PBA fans are tired of the Terrafirma Dyip. The rich talents they've acquired through the draft lottery have routinely ended up in the powerhouse teams and the vicious cycle needs to end.
When talks of Terrafirma's sale to Starhorse Shipping Lines first surfaced last February, hope sprung like cherry blossoms in Japan in January.
But after all the hype, the enthusiasm over Terrafirma's long-awaited exit, and the excitement for a new beginning, the PBA announced today that the deal is off.
The news is a gut punch.
For now, we're stuck with a poorly-ran franchise that is making a mockery, intentional or otherwise, of the competitive fairness that is the fulcrum of any sports league.
As I have previously written before, there were doubts that Starhorse had the financial wherewithal to sustain ownership of a PBA team beyond coming up with the P100 million asking price.
To placate those concerns, a Starhorse rep told me last March that the shipping lines has a current fleet of 18 and are expanding to a total of 50 by 2030. Money needed to cover roughly P10 million a month to maintain a team won't be a problem, he assured.
NO MONEY, NO HONEY.
The league didn't see it that way as Commissioner Wilie Marcial cited the "financial side" of the matter as the reason why the attempted purchase fell through.
But don't worry, folks, Marcial said there are "three new buyers" eager to pounce.
Even as I courageously attempt to temper my inherent cynicism toward the PBA, I can't believe what Marcial is saying.
But like fans that have dealt with Terrafirma's continued existence in the league, I am also desperate to see the Dyip 'phased out' for good in the PBA.
So I'm a believer, Kume Marcial.
Please put a "sold" sign on Terrafirma. Sooner rather than later.
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