This Tuesday, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial met with Blackwater owner Dioceldo Sy regarding the recent issues surrounding the franchise.
The meeting allowed Sy to explain his side regarding the Elite’s workout that allegedly violated health protocols amidst the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Nag-meeting kami sa Zoom ni Mr. Dioceldo, nag-kumustuhan kami. Okay naman ‘yung usapan,” Marcial told Tiebreaker Times.
Sy met Marcial a day after he sat down with the Games and Amusement Board to discuss the same issues that have put him in headlines the past few days.
Last week, Sy said in an online interview that his team had begun practice ahead of the league’s planned return to workouts. Then in an interview with Tiebreaker Times, he clarified that it wasn’t really a practice, but rather a shoot-around, with only two players and a ball boy.
Still, Sy was fined a hefty PHP 100,000 fine, and the Commissioner’s Office ordered all Elite players and staff to undergo swab testing.
And the league did not only penalize the Ever Bilena founder; it also launched a probe into ‘serious allegations’ made by Sy. This, after the self-made billionaire announced that he is putting up the Blackwater franchise for sale for PHP 150 million.
The declaration came after the Sy’s dismay over the warning of sanctions not only from the PBA, but from the Games and Amusement Board.
Regarding such, Marcial said that he has sent a letter to Sy that contains questions from the Board of Governors, led by Chairman Ricky Vargas.
Marcial did not reveal what was in the actual letter, though.
“Sinabi ko sa kanya, may letter ako na may mga questions sina Chairman at ‘yung ibang governors. So, hihintayin ko yung sagot niya,” said the third-year commissioner.
“Sasagutin niya ‘ko within this week kung ano ‘yung nasa letter, so ganun muna.”
