EVERY now and then, we hear the PBA commissioner suspending and sanctioning players for playing in unsanctioned exhibition games while still active in the league. These exhibition games, which are often a one-day thing but may extend to two or more days on some occasions, are popularly known as 'ligang labas.'
It has become an irritant for the PBA and worrisome for team owners, who fear that players in these outside-the-league games may suffer serious injuries, thus jeopardizing their campaign, especially if that player is a major star.
To discourage this practice, several players had been severely punished by the PBA. Just when you thought players had learned their lesson, and a strong message had been sent, news would break with another "ligang labas" violation.
READ PBA hits 10 'ligang labas' offenders with fines totalling P590,000
Though it only happens occasionally, a popular player who had won championships has his own message to the PBA: It will likely happen again.
The reason? Economics.
For a one-night gig, players can receive almost one-fourth of their monthly salary, money to pay for many things, considering the kind of lifestyle PBA players are used to. The amount can vary between P40,000 and P100,000 per game depending on the generosity of the host and the caliber and popularity of the player. The PBA salary cap is P450,000 a month.
"Who can resist this kind of offer," said, Beau Belga, 39, the veteran Rain or Shine big man and 17-year PBA veteran when asked why some players, including himself, risk injury and suspension and play in "ligang labas."
The PBA has hit offenders including Belga himself with fines totalling millions. there were also a lot of cautionary tales, including JR Quinahan whose contract was rescinded by NLEX after figuring in a brawl in a ligang labas game in his hometown Cebu.
Another former Rain or Shine player, Ping Exciminiano, was about to sign a two-year contract extension when he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon while playing in a ligang labas game. The offer was later rescinded.
Still, PBA and college stars keep showing up in these games, which are played in the provinces with governors, city and town politicians among those who regularly entice players to come over, not just to play but also to grace fiestas, birthdays and political campaigns.
“Mayroong iba dyan, nagbibigay otsenta, isang-daan (libo) isang laro. Kaya mahirap tanggihan,” the Rain or Shine big man bared in the Locked Down podcast on Sports Beat PH.
“Nung early stage of my career, mga 2010, doon medyo ano pa kasi mataas pa naman ang value ng pera noon, kumbaga 25, 30 (thousand) goods na. Eh ngayon exhibition ngayon, 40-50 (thousand),” said Belga, who won PBA championships with Rain on Shine in 2012 and 2016.
“Mayroong pang galanteng mga politiko na, okay, ‘Bigyan mo na isang daan (P100,000) yan.’ Mahirap talaga tanggihan,” he continued. “Kahit artista eh, alam mo yung hindi na gano'n [kasikat], wala na sa peak nila na artista, hindi rin tatanggi.”
“Kasi katuwaan lang naman eh. Mga kalaban mo mga selection lang doon sa barangay, selection sa city. Imposible namang talunin kayo nung mga ganun ‘di ba? So katuwaan lang talaga.”
READ Guiao on 'ligang labas' offenders: 'Nasasayangan lang talaga ako'
Why is it hard for players to just ask permission from the PBA and their respective teams to play in games outside the league?
“Maraming proseso,” Belga said. “Papayagan ka, oo. Pero hihingan ka pa ng letter. Eh syempre kung on the day itself ka na-invite, paano ka hihingi ng letter?”
“[Kung] nabitin sila (ligang labas) sa player, tawagan natin si Beau, ‘Brad, pwede ka ba ganito, sa ganitong lugar? Magkano budget dyan? Bigyan ka na ng trenta, kuwarenta. ‘Okay, fight.’ May mga gano'n.”
“Matatanggihan mo yung ₱40,000? Kumbaga, pang-isang buwang ano muna 'yun. Magkano ang gasoline, toll gate? Gumasos ka ng ₱5,000 sa gasoline, toll gate, you still have ₱35,000, ‘di ba? So mahirap kitain, mahirap tanggihan sobra,” he added.
The side hustle became so lucrative that in his prime, Belga said he juggled ligang labas games and RoS practices under then coach Caloy Garcia. Belga said he would sometimes play in back-to-back days in provinces and then rush back to Manila after the provincial stint.
He did not say, however, if he sought permission from coaches and team owners when doing this. But some of the games were hectic and exhausting, even for a fit person like him.
Citing one example, Belga recalled a game in Nueva Ecija where he had to play in a best-of-three series. He said traveled by car for three hours in the afternoon, play at night, catch a few hours of sleep, then travel back to Manila in the wee hours to make it to the Elasto Painters practice in the morning. Then he would repeat the process to play in the second game of the series.
“Ganun ang ginagawa ko dati. Bata pa ako around that time. Kumbaga, hindi pa matagal mag-recover yung katawan ko,” said Belga, who turned 39 last November and is now RoS’ remaining elder statesman after the retirement of Gabe Norwood.
Belga said it was not only money that motivated him. In fact, he said, these games also developed his PBA instincts and in the process, helped his team, too.
“Ang reason ko naman sa sarili ko is madi-develop mo kumpiyansa mo dun eh. Kasi nga, ikaw lang ang tira na tira eh. Ikaw yung go-to guy doon sa liga. May mga kasama ka, pero yun nga, madi-develop mo din doon kung paano mag-isip sa isang sitwasyon, kung paano magbasa pa.”
“Kaya rin siguro nahahasa yung IQ ko sa laro dahil nga nakikipag-bakbakan ako na ako lang yung import mag-isa, puro locals lang yun. Kumbaga binubuhat mo eh. Para kang naglalaro ng ML na buhat lahat eh,” added the three-time PBA All-Star.
Although he believed some players would still go out and play in ligang labas games these days, the chance of pulling it off without alerting the teams is nearly impossible. Why? It's because of social media and livestreaming.
“Eh ngayon, lahat ng ligang labas, naka-live eh. So wala talagang ligtas 'yun,” Belga chuckled. “Hindi ko kino-condone. Siguro ang iiwasan mo lang is magkagulo. Pero yung tipong katuwaan lang, pampasaya lang, hindi naman siguro magiging problema eh. Huwag lang talaga magkakagulo.”
But that’s exactly what happened in 2023 when Belga and former teammate Quinahan were exposed not just for playing in an unsanctioned exhibition game, but for figuring in a fight against a team made up of foreign players in Cebu.
He was summoned to the Commissioner's Office and emerged from the meeting ₱70,000 poorer from the fine levied by the PBA chief.
“Yun ang naging problema namin noong time na yun,” Belga admitted. “Actually before that incident happened, tuloy-tuloy naman eh. Naglalaro naman ako ng mga exhibition. So after nun, nag-tone down ako. Tapos yun nga, nagkasakit ako kaya medyo iwas muna. Pinioritize ko yung health ko.”
Will the PBA relax its rules?
Asked if there is a way where PBA players can play in ligang labas games without sanction, Belga said this can be possible if the PBA relaxes its rules and give them permission to play during the offseason.
“We have contracts, of course. I don't know. Wala akong ma-suggest kasi nga alam ko namang talagang bawal. Pero ang hirap din tanggihan talaga, to be honest.”
“Siguro parang yung ginagawa sa NBA, na pag offseason, nakapaglaru-laro sila,” he was quick to add. “Pero ang NBA players naman kasi, hindi naman kailangan ng 30,000, 40,000 nun. Pagtatawanan lang nung mga yun yun, ‘di ba?”
“So pwede doon, for you to be in shape also. Yun nga, iwas injury lang talaga. Kasi ang kalaban lang namin injury, lalo kung may kontrata ka. So yun yung kailangan mo rin maging conscious sa sarili mo na, ‘Teka lang, ingat tayo.’ Yun yung risk mo as a player lalo kung may live contract ka na mangyari yun.”
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