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ANDY JAO
1989-1990
Three other short-term commissioners came
after Martelino - Carlos Manzanillo, Ramoncito Campos
and Tito Perez de Tagle. Though they were successful
in continuing the programs, the exodus of PABL stars
then took its toll on the league.
When Vintage TV analyst Andy Jao took
over in 1989, he changed the league's structure to keep
PABL in tune with modern basketball as the world governing
body, the FIBA, introduced the era of "open basketball".
First, he dropped the word "amateur'
the name of the league which became the Philippine Basketball
League. He changed the logo from its original hoop logo
to a more intricate battle for the ball to emphasize
the tougher competition with the semi-professional rules
he imposed. The semi-pro format was also aimed at preparing
PBL players, including the Nationals then, fro their
long-time dream of barging into the PBA.
And to perfectly execute the new rules,
Jao decided to put PBL's own pool of referees.
The new PBL established itself as the
country's alternate basketball entertainment and the
regular coverage lured Mama's Love back to its fold.
The return of the legendary Crispa Redmanizers and the
entry of Triple-V during his term, somehow recovered
the crowd it enjoyed back in 1986.
GREGORIO NARVASA
1991-1992
Atty. Gregorio "Ogie" Narvasa
II was no stranger in basketball when he took over Andy
Jao's job. Well-versed about the problems plaguing the
league, he immediate took measures by instituting new
rules best suited for this premiere amateur league and
kept the intensity of the competition.
The honest-to-goodness rules put the PBL
pool of referees to a more respectable level that the
UAAP even requested the league referees, to officiate
in its games. Another innovation under Narvasa's term
was the introduction of a computerized system that recorded
all calls and non-calls of PBL referees. The system
included the time and the type of calls or non-calls
the referees committed and the evaluation were made
open to the scrutiny pf PBL teams.
His term was highlighted by the rivalry
between Triple-V and Sta. Lucia Realty. Adding glitter
to the PBL when was the participation of foreign team,
including the Atlanta Pipes that gave birth to Jeffrey
Caraiaso's historic contributions to Philippine basketball
and actually, started the trend of hiring Fil-Ams in
locals tournaments.
Narvasa succeeded in improving the image
of the PBL but some other factors backfired on plans
of bringing the PBL to higher level. Television coverage
was still irregular as Vintage only aired chosen games
and the championships series.
Likewise, plans were laid to promote the
PBL to a national level by inviting teams from different
regions from Cebu, Bacolod and Davao. But this was aborted
when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991.
POPOY JUICO
1993-1994
 As
soon as Philip Ella Juico stepped in, he called for
a strategic planning sessions to define the vision and
mission of the PBL. The session was aimed at setting
the direction of the league in the coming years as Juico
pushed for short, medium and long-term programs.
Though continuing the programs started
by Narvasa, he also instituted innovations by polishing
officiating rules under Technical Committee officials
Filomeno "Boy" Cordinera and the late Charlie
Badion and flavored the league with import-laced conferences
and participation foreign teams like the Yakult Chinese
National Team and Cebuana-Lhuillier Fil-Americans where
basketball fans got the first glimpse of now PBA star
James Wallkvist.
To hype up the PBL, he got the games into
bigger and more convenient venues like the air-conditioned
Cuneta astrodome and the Araneta Coliseum and games
were telecast by Vintage Enterprises over PTV-4.
But the economic crisis and the continuing
exodus of PBL stars continued to take their toll.
Moreover, Juinco stayed only for six months
to pursue a more pressing national interest as the chairman
of the Philippines Sports Commission.
THE FASTER LEAGUE
CHARLIE FAVIS
(1994-1997)
 Charlie
Favis took over and he tried to "repackaged"
the league by introducing a new logo signifying PBL
as "The Faster League". He was successful
in reviving interest in the league and lured Asia Brewery
(Tanduay), Lamoiyan Corporation (Hapee), Welcoat, Chowking
into the league and this was capped by the return of
Photokina Marketing through Reb Bull.
To implement the "faster league"
concept, limited the recruitment of ex-PBA players and
capitalized more on fresh young talents mostly from
the NCAA and the UAAP.
The significant entry of talents like
Marlou Aquino brewed bigger interest in the league as
Favis, instead of hiring imports and inviting foreign
teams, coordinated with the Basketball Association of
the Philippines for PBL teams to compete in international
tournaments to further enhance the skills of its players
and improve the quality of competition.
Favis' programs attracted bigger support
from the media and the league started regaining the
popularity it enjoyed back in 1986.
But somehow, the lack of a "permanent
home" back-fired on his programs that gate attendance
still failed to pick up. Complicating matters for Favis
then was the lack of a regular television coverage that
could provide the marketing mileage the participating
teams needed to justify their investments.
THE FUTURE IS NOW
YENG GUIAO
(1997-2000)
 Joseller
"Yeng" Guiao made history in the PBL as the
first ever to achieve a full circle starting as a player,
then as RFM coach and as PBL commissioner from 1997
to 2000. His knowledge experience, experience and the
love for the league equipped him with innovative ideas
that brought the league to a new high during his leadership.
His administration was an era where the
league earned more trust from its supporters. Officiating
vastly improved with Roehl Nadurata at the helm of the
Technical Committee. And with the balance competition,
the real essence of the PBL came out as the games were
decided by the concerted efforts of true talents.
"The Future is now" and that
was clearly depicted by a boom of talents like Don Allado,
Dino Aldeguer, Ronald Magtulis, Rysal Castro, Danny
Ildefonso, Enrico Villanueva, Jojo Manalo, Ren-Ren Ritualo,
Cyrus Baguio, Nino Gelig and Yancy de Ocampo plus Cebuanos
Roger Yap, Egay Echavez and super point guard Jimwell
Torion. Adding spectacle to the PBL then was the rivalry
between Tanduay's Eric Menk and Blu's Asi Taulava.
But the most-followed team was Tanduay.
The Rhum Masters made history by winning seven titles
in 10 conferences just before they went up to the PBA
in 1999.
Aside from officiating, Yeng also solved
two other perennial league problems - TV covereage and
permanent home.
Vintage provided the regular coverage
in the early years of Guiao's administration while Silverstar
Communication Inc. took over on the latter years bringing
the PBL to a wider reach through PTV-4.
The move to bring the games permanently
at the Makati Coliseum also gained the approval of the
fans as gate receipts ballooned.
Despite the formation of the MBA and the
economic crisis, the league managed to maintain its
popularity.
But it wasn't all the rosy. Yeng faced
the Games and Amusements issue on the leagues nature
(whether it was amateur or professional). Likewise,
he couldn't stay long to solve that problem as went
the way of his real love - coaching - and went back
to the PBA as Red Bull head coach.
THE FUTURE BEGINS
CHINO TRINIDAD
(2000 - PRESENT)
 At
the start, the basketball world couldn't imagine how
a young cub like Chino Trinidad could handle the complexity
of becoming the new commissioner. But new chairman Dioceldo
Sy was right in his choice and the years of experience
as Vintage Executive producer equipped Chino with management
skills and innovative concepts that toughened him up
to deal with any challenge. Yes, they never thought
that Trinidad was born to be a winner.
As soon as he stepped in, he unveiled
a new logo bearing the motto "PBL…Where the
Future Begins" reiterating the nature of the league's
very existence. To emphasize this, he instilled the
pride of PBL's glorious existence by honoring the contributions
of the leaders before him and the 12 greatest PBL products
the collectively dubbed as "PBL Legacy" -
Santigo "Sonny" Cabatu, Allan acidic, Jojo
Lastimosa, Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras, Jerry Cordinera,
Vergel Meneses, Zandro Jun Limpot, Johnny Abarrientos,
Marlou Aquino, Danilo Ildefonsoand Eric Menk.
His broadcast experience also proved vital
in improving the quality of PBL's primetime telecast.
Together with chairman Sy's funding, Trinidad put up
an in-house PBL production, invested on high-tech equipment
and gathered a bunch of production brains for a more
picturesque coverage and better premium package for
its advertisers to compliment the quality of games.
The league's partnership with National
Broadcasting Network also proved a major step in promoting
the PBL as good avenue for the marketing of the advertisers'
product with the government television network's reach
from as far North of Luzon to the Southernmost tip of
Mindanao.
And moving on, he institutionalized the
PBL Rookie Draft to ensure the continuous flow of fresh
talents.
Rivalries played a big role in bolstering
the league's popularity. Aside from the much-followed
championship math-ups between Welcoat Paints and Shark
Energy Drink, Chino got another big victory bringing
in the UAAP rivalry between La Salle and Ateneo in the
PBL that drew in more spectators.
With the availability of talents, other
PBL teams also muscled up and turned the quest for the
crown even more exciting.
Success came one after the other for Chino,
until he had to face the nagging issue on the "questionable"
nature of the PBL as league detractors went to the Games
and Amusements Board to push for a resolution declaring
the PBL as a professional league.
Mush to their chagrin, Chino waded through
all these and got a reversal of the GAB decision from
Malacanang. And soon after, stability set in at the
PBL.
The demise of the MBA brought in more
talents to the PBL - bringing the league to new heights.
But Chino never rested on his laurels. He never stopped
looking for ways to further improve the television coverage
and the quality of officiating through a more trained
pool of referees. He also put up PBL's own website -
MyPBL.Com to reach out to more supporters.
And expect Chino to come up with more
new ideas as the league moves forward to a new era he
aptly dubbed as 'PBL 20 Years and Beyond". |
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