PBA to impose heftier fines for future walkouts

For Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) commissioner Sonny Barrios, a walkout is an unacceptable action in the game of basketball. “Fans are the lifeblood of the league. We don’t want to deprive them of good games that is why a walkout made by any team is unacceptable," said Barrios in the wake of last week's walkout staged by Talk 'N Text against Ginebra in their Philippine Cup quarterfinal series last week.

This is exactly why Barrios and the PBA board of governors want to implement heftier fines for teams which will walk of the game in the future. “The watching public comes to the coliseum just to watch great games. When a team walks out, we would deprive them of their chance to see good games. The sentiment of the board right now to increase the penalty for teams which will walk out," said Barrios. Under PBA rules, a team which walks out of a game will be fined a minimum of P500,000. Additional fines will be slapped upon the discretion of the commissioner. The rule was first applied in 1990, when Ginebra walked out against Shell during Game 6 of their First Conference best-of-seven championship series. “Then PBA commissioner Rudy Salud used his elastic decision because there were still no guidelines for walkouts at that time," added Barrios, who himself used such discretion in slapping a a total of P1.2 million fine on the Tropang Texters, who left Game 4 of their best-of-five quarterfinals series against Ginebra. PBA chairman Lito Alvarez and governors JB Baylon of Coca-Cola, vice chairman Rene Pardo of Purefoods, treasurer Mamerto Mondragon of Rain or Shine and Robert Non of Ginebra all agreed to raise penalties for offending teams. Alvarez said he had asked Barrios to come up with a proposal – a new clear cut guideline that will be imposed for teams which will leave the court in the future. Expected to be included here is a stiffer penalty not just for teams, but for the coach of that particular squad as well. “I believe the coach should also be on top of things on his team. He should have control on his squad," said Alvarez. “Therefore, ideal din na when a team walks out of the court, the coach should be liable for it." So how much should a team pay for a walkout? “I think P1 million would be ideal," said Baylon in a text message. Pardo said it’s high time the league change guidelines on walkouts. “The PBA is following a 20-year-old guideline for a walkout," said Pardo. “’Yung P500,000 at this time, affordable na talaga ‘yan for every team, so parang balewala ‘yung penalty." Mondragon stressed the importance of coming up with a more concrete guideline on penalties for walkouts. “We should do this so that a team will have a clear understanding why they were penalized such amount for walking out," said Mondragon. “But honestly, I think it’s time for us to increase the penalty, medyo matagal na kasi ‘yung P500,000 na fine eh." Barrios and the board members are set to discuss the matter in their next board meeting. - GMANews.TV