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    If Blackwater takes leave of absence, it won't be first PBA team to do so

    Here are three PBA teams granted a leave of absence - with varying implications
    Jul 21, 2020

    AMID the brouhaha over a Blackwater workout done without clearance from the PBA, and a penalty subsequently slapped on the ballclub, its frustrated team owner bared a plan to take a leave of absence from the pro league.

    If he pushed through with the plan, the Elite won't be the first one.

    At least three ballclubs - San Miguel, Formula Shell, and Barako Bull - had taken a leave of absence from Asia's oldest pro league in the past, for varying reasons and with varying implications.

    The last team to file for an LOA was Barako Bull, an overachieving franchise owned by George Chua which reached the finals five times and won three PBA championships under coach Yeng Guiao, the last in 2005.

    But when it fell on hard times, the club filed for a leave of absence which the PBA board granted in 2011. The Energy Boosters never returned, their franchise eventually bought by Air21 Express of the Lina group.

    Formula Shell, a successful team from the nineties to the early 2000s, was also forced to take a leave of absence in 2005 when its mother company decided it was no longer feasible to use a PBA team as a marketing and advertising tool. The ballclub was eventually bought by Welcoat (Rain or Shine).

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    Even the league's oldest and most successful team, San Miguel [then carrying the colors of Magnolia], took a leave for two conferences back in 1986 before returning in the season-ending Open Conference with the nucleus of the Northern Consolidated-backed national team led by Hector Calma, Samboy Lim, and Yves Dignadice.

    All three cases, curiously, happened during the terms of three different commissioners - the late Mariano Yenko for Magnolia, Noli Eala during the Shell sale, and Chito Salud for Barako Bull - and were dealt with differently.

    Shell traded away top players like Rich Alvarez, Tony dela Cruz, and Ronald Tubid as rumors of an impending disbandment flew. When the Turbochargers took a leave, their remaining players were put on a dispersal draft and the team was given a six-month ultimatum by the board to either return or sell its franchise.

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    In the case of Barako Bull, its players were put on a dispersal draft when the ballclub took a leave in January 2011 to give way to guest team Smart Gilas, on the condition that the players would go back to Barako Bull once it returned. It never did.

    After an attempted sale to Phoenix fell through (on the opposition of San Miguel which later switched colors to sister company Petron), Barako Bull was given until the end of the year to sell the franchise or risk losing it. The ballclub was bought by the Lina group and re-christened Shopinas.

    Magnolia, as we know, returned after two conferences with a brand-new lineup from NCC.

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      So what are the implications if Blackwater holds true on its owner's word and files for a leave of absence?

      According to league old-timers, the PBA adopted a rule during the time of former commissioner Rudy Salud that basically makes filing a leave of absence tantamount to disbandment. "Take a leave of absence, lose your franchise. That was how it was during the time of Commissioner Salud," said one former official.

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      However, the provision was apparently amended after Salud's team, allowing Shell to file a leave of absence in 2006 and Barako Bull in 2011.

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        Asked how the league would react if Blackwater decides to file for a leave of absence, Commissioner Willie Marcial, after consulting with league legal counsel Melvin Mendoza, said there is no provision in the by-laws that can stop the Elite - or any team for that matter - from doing so.

        But even if a team is granted a leave of absence, Marcial said it doesn't mean that it will be free from all its responsibilities, financial and otherwise. The commissioner said a ballclub must still pay the wages of all players, coaches and staff during its leave.

        As for the other conditions like the dispersal of players, those are matters that the board would ultimately decide, Marcial added.

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