Officials of the Philippine Basketball Association has met with their B.League counterparts on Friday in Tokyo.
And in the meeting, the PBA contingent led by chairman Ricky Vargas and commissioner Willie Marcial let it known to the Japanese, the “friendship” between the two leagues is being affected by ongoing exodus of Filipino players to their league.
“The keyword is cooperation. Recent events whereby our players accepted offers to play in Japan have hurt not only our league but our national team training and development, as well,” said Vargas.
“If we continue this way of engaging Philippine players without prior clearance from our league, it may sadly blemish our friendship.”
Currently, there are five ex-PBA players set to play in the 2022-23 B.League season, namely Kiefer Ravena (Shiga), Bobby Ray Parks (Nagoya), Matthew Wright (Kyoto), Greg Slaughter (Fukuoka), Roosevelt Adams (Kagawa), and Jay Washington (Ryukyu). Jordan Heading of Nagasaki is also a PBA drafted player.
Moreover, the recent draft was turned shallow after the likes of Dwight Ramos, Justine Baltazar, Thirdy Ravena, and Kobe Paras are playing in Japan.
Despite the B.League having a FIBA break for the windows, Vargas told the B.League, headed by chairman Shinji Shimada, that each team should also respect FIBA rules and set a boundary between the two leagues.
“As good neighbors, the path of cooperation is always the best way to settle our differences,” added Vargas to PBA.ph.
Shimada though is not promising anything, saying “As Commissioner (Marcial) suggested, we keep the conversation going.”
Also part of the PBA party are Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy, PBA governors Robert Non of San Miguel Beer, Alfrancis Chua of Barangay Ginebra, Rod Franco of NLEX, Bill Pamintuan of Meralco, Erick Arejola of NorthPort, Bobby Rosales of Terrafirma, Chito Salud of Converge, Raymond Zorrilla of Phoenix Fuel and Silliman Sy of Blackwater, deputy commissioner Eric Castro, legal counsel Melvin Mendoza, finance director Odessa Encarnacion and social media’s Michelle Flores.
