Nothing beats “good old-fashioned parity” if the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) wants to reignite the fans’ interest toward its product.
That is the belief of Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao, arguing that there are far more pressing issues that the league should address first and foremost instead of adding entertainment value to the games.
“Ever since naman, ang aking advocacy is parity. So kung gusto nating exciting games, kung gusto nating maka-engganyo pa tayo ng maraming nanonood, good old-fashioned parity,” the outspoken mentor offered.
“Close games, kita na bakbakan talaga, kita na seryoso lahat ng teams, may chance manalo, lahat ng teams gusto mag-champion – that’s the good old-fashioned formula eh. Sa akin, that should be the direction,” he added.
Guiao said his piece during Monday’s PBA Media Day at the Le Parc Event Hall in Pasay, where he had the chance to chat with Commissioner Willie Marcial and ask a bit about the implementation of the four-point shot.
In play in the last two All-Star Games, the Board has decided to apply the 27-foot shot in regular games this Season 49 on an experimental basis, which subsequently drew mixed reactions from fans and even those within the league.
The champion bench tactician clarified that he is not against it, but did not appreciate that the coaches were not consulted before the approval.
“Sinasabi niya na ‘pag hindi naman maganda, tanggalin natin. ‘Pag maganda edi swerte tayo andyan siya, nakakaganda pala, baka gayahin tayo ng NBA, baka gayahin tayo ng Europe or ng FIBA,” he said.
“Bragging rights pa natin ‘yun. Kaya lang, ‘pag hindi naman maganda, kalimutan natin, parang walang nangyari,” Guiao added.
“Pero ako kasi, risk-taker din ako eh. So kung hindi lang doon sa proseso, OK sana sa’kin. Kaya lang, it could’ve been better if we had gone through the protocols, or the process,” the 65-year-old continued.
Another issue of Guiao is how hastily it had been approved by the Board instead of experimenting on it first on a smaller scale to better assess if it could be good enough to be run during one full regular season or not.
“Meron kasing tinatawag na proof of concept eh. May proof of concept ka, may smaller scale tapos tsaka mo ii-scale up kung gusto mo talaga i-mitigate ‘yung risk,” he said. “But if you want to take the risk, OK lang. OK lang naman.”
But then again, what Guiao would really want for the Board to prioritize is bringing parity to the league, hoping to see a landscape where all 12 member teams have a legitimate shot of winning a championship.
“Ito, pampasaya, pampaiba ng lasa, pwede siguro siya. Pero babalik at babalik din doon sa issue na ‘yun eh,” he opined.
“Meron bang chance manalo llahat ng teams ng championship? At hindi ba ‘yun ang pinakamaganda, na hindi natin alam sino magcha-champion every conference, at lahat ng games natin ay close games? At ang intention lahat natin ay mapalakas ‘yung team natin? At lahat tayo, sumusunod sa rules.
“So, at the end of the day, siguro ‘yun ang ano roon eh, kasi meron tayong mga regulations, meron tayong rules. We’re supposed to follow those rules exactly to accomplish yung hinahanap nating parity,” he added.
Guiao even cited the Rookie Draft in the past several years to prove his point, where the top picks circulate to almost only three teams.
“But somehow, somewhere, they (rules) are being skewed. Naii-skew sila kaya every year, ‘yung top three picks ng draft, kung hindi Terrafirma, Blackwater, NorthPort. Susunod, Terrafirma, Blackwater, NorthPort. Susunod biglang naging Converge, kaya lang ‘yung Converge hindi natin alam kung ganun pa rin sila next year kasi minsan pa lang naman nangyari,” he lamented.
“Pero ‘yung sinasabi ko, for the last eight or 10 years,’ yung three teams na ‘yun, parating sila nauuna sa Draft. Hindi lang din naman ako ang nakakapansin. Hindi ba ‘yun ang dapat nating bigyan ng solusyon?”
“‘Di ba ‘yun dapat ang solusyunan natin? And that’s just looking at the lower bracket. ‘Yung upper bracket naman, parang gan’on din. To me, that is the main problem that needs to be solved,” Guiao closed.
