I SUSPECT PBA commissioner Willie Marcial is wearing a smile on his face these days, even if perhaps a nervous one. He probably thinks he’s survived the initial blast of a damning SPIN.ph report about a hacker who claimed that he altered the result of the last PBA All-Star balloting.
So far so good, the Kume may be thinking. But it could also be the thoughts of a man midway down a jump from the top of a building.
READ 'Hacker' claims he rigged results of PBA All-Star online voting
The hacking controversy may have died down a bit and the PBA may believe it’s back in business, but this may be because the next All-Star is still a year away.
Once the voting begins, the specter of the reported hacking will certainty rear its ugly head again, no matter how hard the PBA tries to sanitize the voting with more efforts at transparency.
One such move may be the release of voting results from start to finish, the very issue that SPIN.ph raised to validate how there might have been hanky-panky in the counting process. It does beg the issue when the PBA never reveals who is leading the balloting until just before the start of the All-Star festivities.
Indeed, as our resourceful and hard-hitting columnist Homer Sayson declares: “Those results need to be made public to make sure that the process withstands scrutiny. Which is why political election results and census surveys are released. Heck, even the Rotary Club makes its balloting transparent.”
My suggestion as a long-time friend to Sir Willie and also as a long-time PBA ally is that, as early as today, the PBA should work hard to bury suspicions and uncertainties among the public. To wait till the next balloting is too late.
Who wants to bring down the PBA? Who wants it to lose its integrity? Who wants it to be the subject of speculation? Who wants it to be watching its back worrying that a hacker out for publicity is right there under the free-throw line waiting to grab the rebound?
Not me. Not SPIN.ph.
We want the next All-Star to proceed with joy and harmony, filled with fun and sportsmanship, with nary a cloud to mar its days.
How to do it?
Marcial could order an investigation of what’s transpired. He can do it discreetly given his aversion to negative publicity. He can go to law enforcers to probe this thoroughly and apprehend the hacker. He can consult with cyber-crime experts and determine once and for all if there was indeed a break in the system.
If there was — and I truly hope there wasn’t — he can ask the experts how to prevent this from happening now and in the future.
I want the PBA to do what it does best: provide unparalleled entertainment for the masses and give them the best basketball a professional association can muster.
Now if the investigation finds truth to the SPIN.ph report, that’s the time he, as commissioner, can make the findings public and detail for the country the steps that the PBA is taking to stop this criminal intrusion from happening again.
READ In case Kume forgets, it's his duty to protect sanctity of every PBA vote
The commissioner may argue: Why bother with this report when all is well in the PBA world?
I can only say that it does not help the PBA to keep ignoring the elephant in the room. It is there, it is big, and it is hanging over the heads of those running the show.
Deal with it, please.
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