THE PBA board won't stop its coaches from taking on jobs in other leagues like the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), but left the final decision in the hands of its member teams.
PBA treasurer Raymond Zorilla said the league will not stand in the way of coaches wishing to take on similar roles in other leagues, so long as they get the green light from their mother teams.
“We will honor existing contracts of coaches but it will be up to the team to decide on whether to allow their coaches to coach another team in a different league,” said Zorilla, who spoke on behalf of the board on the issue following their meeting on Thursday.
With the decision, there will be no hindrance for PBA assistant coaches to take jobs either in the MPBL or in collegiate leagues such as the UAAP and the NCAA.
Zorilla said the league still prefers coaches to give their teams full and undivided attention, but declined to draft a rule to stop them from taking on other jobs.
“We want full, undivided attention to the team. It might be conflict of interest but it’s a matter of scheduling and time constraints also. Usually, it’s governed by the teams. Expectedly, it’s the team who is to decide on what to do with their current key persons,” Zorilla said.
Currently, there are two PBA assistant coaches who hold head-coaching roles in the UAAP, namely Phoenix Pulse’s Topex Robinson (Lyceum) and Barangay Ginebra’s Olsen Racela (Far Eastern University).
Recently, Chris Gavina accepted an offer to coach MPBL side Bacoor Strikers, joining fellow Rain or Shine assistant coach Donald Dulay who is the head coach of the Davao Occidental Tigers.
Zorilla, however, reminded the coaches not to put themselves in a difficult situation.
“We don’t want any conflict ... We don’t want them to be put in a predicament. It has to be ironed out with the team,” said Zorilla.
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