Who wouldn’t forget the finger-pointing incident between PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa and then-Alaska Aces guard Dondon Hontiveros back in January of 2016, in the middle of a game at the SMART Araneta Coliseum?
It will forever be a part of the league’s history — or at least, the term of Narvasa, who is now under fire as seven of the 12 teams have been calling for him to step down from his post as commissioner after they have lost confidence in him.
That finger-pointing scene is hard to forget, even if it took place over a year ago. But the case surrounding the 55-year-old’s term as the league’s top honcho is yet another issue that will surely be talked about for years to come.
So Tiebreaker Times took the opportunity to ask the Cebuano Hotshot about his thoughts regarding this impasse. Fitting, since he himself had experienced what its like going face-to-face with Narvasa.
“Hopefully ma-resolve na whatever yung mga issues they have now. I guess mare-resolve pa rin in the future,” said the 40-year-old, moments after watching SMART Gilas Pilipinas’ practice Tuesday night at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City.
“I think yung post ni [Danny] Seigle is the perfect way of really hoping for the best sa PBA,” Hontiveros added, referring to the Instagram post made by long-time teammate Danny Seigle calling for the league to get its act together.
That loss of confidence among the seven teams stemmed from Narvasa’s decision to approve the controversial KIA-San Miguel trade. Hontiveros is aware of this, and he fully understands where those teams are coming from.
“Ang concern lang naman ng ibang teams, yung mga nasa baba, is fair competition or level competition,” he said.
“There are certain things na in-allow din naman talaga, na parang kung pwede magawa i-aallow [lang agad].”
But despite the board room war taking place in Asia’s first pro league, the 19-year vet still managed to look at some positives, citing Gilas Pilipinas as an example, as if he is thankful that the program remains unbothered by the issue.
“Sa nakikita naman natin ngayon, the players na kailangan ni Coach Chot (Reyes) nandyan naman eh. It’s still a good step moving forward,” said Hontiveros, a multi-time member of the national basketball team.
With that, Hontiveros remains optimistic that this current dispute will be put to rest once and for all.
“As a fan, we hope — I hope — na ma-resolve na kung anumang issues moving forward,” said the now-Tanduay Alab Pilipinas cager.
“Yun naman gusto natin mangyari eh, mga fans eh nagtu-tune in and looking forward sa season ng PBA.”
