By Jerome Lagunzad
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Board of Governors will meet on Thursday to discuss the fate of Commissioner Chito Narvasa whose recent actions did not sit well with some team officials, according to a highly-placed source.
The special meeting was called by Ramoncito Fernandez, the incoming PBA chairman. It will be held at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City.
Willie Marcial, the pro league’s media bureau chief, said they have yet to receive any notice of the meeting which comes ahead of the league’s annual planning session set in Los Angeles, California.
PBA rules allow the 12-man board to remove the commissioner via two-third votes. Eight moves are needed to remove Narvasa who has served the league for two and a half years.
Narvasa succeeded lawyer Chito Salud on May 14, 2015.
The recent trade between Kia and San Miguel Beer came under fire with Alaska owner Wilfred Uytengsu criticizing Narvasa for approving what he termed as a one-sided deal.
Under the deal, Kia gave its first round pick to San Miguel in exchange for three players and a future draft pick.
The Beermen used the No. 1 pick to get Standhardinger.
Narvasa also drew the ire of the Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) Group after mentioning the name of Talk ‘N Text assistant team manager Magnum Membrere as the one who helped Standhardinger file his application form.
“TNT management resents the statement of Commissioner Narvasa. It is uncalled for and it just proves that he is biased,” read the TNT’s official statement sent out by team manager Virgil Villavicencio during the PBA Rookie Draft proceedings last Sunday.
“Why did he have to use us to justify his decision? In addition, any team has the right to see what trades would make sense for them regardless of players thrown into the equation.”
“His decision robs the PBA of the dynamism, excitement, and suspense that a player of (Christian) Standhardinger’s caliber would bring going up against June Mar Fajardo. He talks about parity for trades, but where is it?! The people have spoken! Commissioner Chito, listen to the feedback!” the TNT management added.
Through a text message sent by Marcial, Narvasa gave his side on the matter.
“I respect TNT’s management to voice out their opinion. I did not mean any offense or disrespect when I explained to the press about what actually took place,” Narvasa said.