PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said the league is keeping a vigilant approach in trying to curb game-fixing allegations similar to the one that rocked the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup recently.
Marcial bared in the virtual Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum that took place Tuesday, April 27, that several measures have been in place to make sure questionable acts won’t hound the games.
“Ang sa akin, ginagawa ko personal. Masasabi mo naman talaga na may off-night e. Pag may off-night na player, kinakausap ko kung bakit ganito, ganyan. Hindi lang lima o anim ang kinakausap ko. Yun ang ginagawa ko sa akin,” Marcial said.
(You can always say that there’s a player who has an off-night. If that’s the case, I talk to any player who had an off-night and ask him why it’s like this or that. That’s what I do on a personal level.)
“Pero meron din tayong mga ahensiya dyan na dati sa panahon ata ni Comm Chito Narvasa na may mga NBI tayo noon na sa venue so di naman tayo pabaya (We make sure that we stay on our toes like the time of Commissioner Narvasa when we had NBI agents.),” added Marcial.
The league did encounter some problems in the PBA D-League in past years that include the questionable stints of Mila’s Lechon in 2018 Aspirants’ Cup and Nailtalk in the 2019 Foundation Cup.
Marcial also vowed careful screening of participating teams following some dubious outcomes in the 2019 Foundation Cup, including Hyperwash’s 180-117 loss to eventual champion BRT Sumisip Basilan-St. Clare in the quarterfinals.
That is why Marcial lauded the decision of VisMin officials and the Games and Amusements Board following the controversial match that saw players from ARQ Builders-Lapu-Lapu City and the Siquijor Mystics to deliberately miss their attempts.
VisMin officials expelled all but two members of the Mystics, including their coaching staff while suspending several players and coaches of Lapu-Lapu.
GAB has yet to complete its own probe but had made a decision to suspend next month’s Mindanao leg.
“Tama ginawa ng GAB kasi sila talaga ang mandato dun. At tama din ginawa ng mga VisMin organizers kasi nangyari din sa amin yan sa D-League na tinanggal natin yung isang team at sinuspend natin mga players,” Marcial said.
(GAB did the right thing because it’s really their mandate. And the VisMin organizers did the right thing because it also happened to us in the D-League.