I HAVE a true Sunday confession: I am a huge fan of San Miguel Beer head coach Leo Austria.
A short and stocky point guard who wasn't always the fastest, quickest player on the court, he overcame his limitations through hard work. He was so relatable to guys like me growing up who were dimpled with shortcomings.
But after he staunchly defended a hopelessly one-sided trade that favored his team and outraged PBA fans, I don't think I can look at Austria with the same affection ever again.
A "win-win situation," he insisted.
"We gave up the No. 8 pick, may defensive player ka pa in Matt Rosser, may point guard may big man pa," he explained while pointing out the pieces San Miguel is giving to Terrafirma in exchange for CJ Perez.
[See: Leo Austria says Perez trade a 'win-win situation' for SMB, Terrafirma]
While I am open to admit that his 62-year-old wisdom is far greater than mine, Austria ought to know that I'm not as dumb as he thinks, either.
In an attempt to mitigate the steal of acquiring an established star who consistently put up gaudy numbers for Dyip, Austria embellished the assets he is relinquishing to Terrafirma.
But a quick research and a deep dive of the personnel involved exposes the chicanery.
Austria spoke about the No. 8 pick as if it were a sure gem. It is not.
The last two players taken at No. 8 in the PBA draft were Jayjay Alejandro and Sean Manganti. Neither is a household name, let alone a star such as Perez.

As for Rosser, he opted out of the Philippine Cup bubble and is believed to be still in the US dealing with some "personal matters."
Is the 6-foot-5, 30-year-old wing in shape? Is he ready to resume his career?
As for Gelo Alolino and Russel Escoto, both played a combined 16 games during the last conference where they averaged a whopping 2.2 and 1.8 points, respectively.
IF AUSTRIA VALUED THESE TWO PLAYERS SO MUCH, WHY DID THEY BARELY GET OUT OF THE DOGHOUSE AND LOGGED ONLY A COMBINED 17.3 PLAYING MINUTES?
Austria's reasoning that this trade is fair is a crime against logic and no amount of carefully worded coachspeak can obscure the foul smell.
Which made me wonder, why was Austria yakking so much about this in the first place? If the goal was to appear smart, he succeeded only in sounding like a smart aleck.
"Dagdagan mo na lang ng isang veteran player, isang (unit) na yan," he suggested.
"Maybe coach Leo was drunk," SPIN.ph reader Christopher Manuel wrote in the comments section. I think not, but I'm willing to say that Austria uttered his words under the influence of self interest.
in the NBA, the gold standard league the PBA so loves to copycat, coaches don't discuss personnel moves.
As Taylor Swift once yelled in a song, "Never. Ever."
That area lies within the purview of the G.M., who can either choose to make a "no comment" or just issue a press release that would explain no details other than to specify that it's a team matter.
If the PBA had adopted the same model, Austria would have been saved from an awkward foot-in-mouth moment.
And so we wait.
And we pray that, as suggested by the erudite Yeng Guiao, the PBA would "listen to the fans" instead of opting to be recklessly tone-deaf.
But I have low hopes and even lower expectations.
We the fans simply cannot can't trust the PBA because Commissioner Willie Marcial will likely take our vulnerabilities to an even more miserable place than we found it.
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