CHICAGO - I'm not sure if this is the kind of rugged, street brawl type of internal strife the league wants to be involved in.
But the PBA sure has one in its hands right now.
After board members voted on Tuesday night to deny the appointment of Dennis "Delta" Pineda as team governor of Converge, a high-ranking exec bared the FiberXers will not take the rejection sitting down.
READ: PBA board rejects Pineda appointment as Converge governor
"We will not replace Mr. Pineda. He is our chosen representative to the board and we believe it is our right to designate someone who can best represent our interests in the PBA," the exec told me over the phone.
Converge feels, and rightfully so, that they have been wronged, discriminated against. It is a cause worth fighting for, which is why the ownership group will do so with the same enthusiasm it has approached winning games since joining the PBA last March 22 by buying Alaska's franchise.
While I understand that a rule was put in place to allow a voting process to take place before a candidate for team governor can be accepted, why was the outcome only referred to as Pineda "failed to get the majority vote."
WHERE IS THE TRANSPARENCY?
What was the final tabulation? And if there's nothing to hide, why not reveal the names of those who voted for or against Pineda?
Smells fishy.
Just for giggles, I wonder why the PBA granted Converge a franchise when it cannot freely run its own sensitive domestic affairs?
It's like letting people into a restaurant and then telling them that there are only certain foods they can eat off the menu. Talk about leaving a poor taste in the mouth.
The PBA is an exclusive club and while it's the league's prerogative to choose whom to love and welcome to the fraternity, denying league member Converge its chosen proxy for a seat in the table sends a message that Delta ain't good enough.
A former mayor and the sitting governor of the province of Pampanga, Delta has a track record of being a staunch advocate of the sport by helping build its growth in the grassroots while supporting many players in a way that would help them reach their PBA dreams and beyond.
JUST ASK ARWIND SANTOS, IAN SANGALANG AND JUSTINE BALTAZAR, TO NAME A FEW.
At a time when its popularity is at its nadir, the PBA should reinvent itself and embrace inclusion, not exclusion. Take down those fences and restrictions and allow some young blood and fresh ideas to invigorate the board. This is 2023, not 1975.
When I first heard the news that Pineda got the stiff arm from the league, I was reminded how good deeds are not always reciprocated.
Apparently, the PBA has the memory of an outdated computer.
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 when the PBA was bleeding, guess where it took shelter and held a bubble just to get back on its feet?
Pampanga. In the bailiwick of Delta Pineda, who welcomed the PBA with open arms.
In return, Delta is now getting the cold shoulder from the same people he once helped.
Life ain't fair.
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