PBA commissioner Willie Marcial assured the pro league is doing everything to prevent game-fixing and point-shaving activities.
The league is no stranger to these problems and the amiable executive said that the PBA has already learned its lesson from previous incidents.
"Nangyari na rin sa atin yan sa D-League, tinanggal natin ang players ng isang team at sinuspend natin ang players," he said during Tuesday's Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.
It was in 2018 when the PBA brought down the hammer on Mila's Lechon by putting its officials and some of its players in the league's dreaded blacklist.
The measures are not limited to the developmental ranks, with Marcial himself doing his own policing whenever there are suspicious dips in the players' performances.
"Ang ginagawa ko, personal. Minsan masasabi mo na talagang may off night eh. So kinakausap ko yung mga players na may off-night, [tinatanong ng], 'Bakit ganoon yung laro mo?'" he said.
The PBA has also tapped the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in the past to be neutral observers in the games to be on the lookout for suspicious activities.
"May ahensya tayo dyan. Dati noong panahon ni Commissioner Chito Narvasa, may NBI tayo noon na nasa venue lagi," he said.
"Hindi naman tayo pabaya."
That's why Marcial understood the plight of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup as the farcical game between the ARQ-Lapu-Lapu City Builders and the Siquijor Mystics two weeks ago put the upstart league in a bad light and brought up game-fixing and point-shaving allegations.
He lauded the swift actions by the league brass and the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) in imposing a ban on select individuals.
"Tama yung ginagawa ng GAB kasi sila ang may mandato sa gobyerno na labanan yung gambling," he said. "Yung GAB sa pro, SBP sa amateurs. Yan ang magpapastol sa mga yan."
Marcial admitted game-fixing is a problem that has been hard to fix, especially with no one willing to come forward and testify against these violators.
But Marcial believes that after a thorough investigation, it is only right for individuals proven to be engaging in these activities to be blacklisted, just like what the PBA is doing and was bared by player agent Danny Espiritu in the latest edition of Spin Zoom In.
"Pag sinabi sa amin na blacklisted, tinitignan namin kung ganoon talaga. Kung mapatunayan, hindi na sila makakalaro sa liga natin," he said.
Still, Marcial is optimistic that these game-fixing issues can be stopped once governing bodies and leagues come together.
"Sama-sama lang tayo, SBP, GAB, lahat ng liga, malulutas natin ito," he said.
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