Air21 team owner denies board gov's resignation

Is Johann Ramos, Air21’s board governor in the Philippine Basketball Association, stepping down from his post? Air21 team owner Bert Lina squelched the speculation and clarified the matter with GMA News on Sunday. “Hindi totoo ‘yan," said Lina in a telephone interview when asked about the report that Ramos has already resigned as board governor of the Express in the pro league.

“I will be the one who will make the announcement if he will stay or not, so if you got that from a text message or somebody else, then that’s not true. Right now, status quo pa rin tayo with Johann," added Lina. The speculation came on the heels of rumors that the Express are trading their top three rookie picks this season — Noy Baclao, Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Rey Guevarra — for San Miguel Beermen’s veteran players Danny Seigle and Mick Pennisi as well as Joseph Yeo. Ramos had been in the hospital for several days because of pneumonia, and was only released Saturday. He sent a text message the same day that "he has no knowledge on the trade and hasn’t signed any trade offers." GMA News repeatedly called up Ramos to confirm whether he has resigned or not, but there was no response from the young executive. Decision on trade out soon A league official confirmed that the trade offer signed by both the Express and the Beermen’s camp has already reached the PBA Commissioner’s Office. “It was given to me after the game at the Ynares Center. By that time, the commissioner had already left the venue," said the source, who requested anonymity. As of press time, PBA commissioner Atty. Chito Salud has yet to approve of any such transaction, news of which drew negative reactions when GMA News released it as early as Feb. 25. Whether Salud will approve the trade, make a revision by adding another marquee player, or turn it down remains to be seen. In his early tenure as head of the pro league, Salud has made several revisions on trades, a move which he said he did "to avoid lopsided transactions." A basketball observer who refused to be identified said that Jay Washington, San Miguel Beer’s marquee player, should be included in the equation. “That’s because the value of Washington and Al-Hussaini are the same as far as their respective teams are concerned," said the observer. “Al-Hussaini is the future of Air21 and is the next most important big man in the PBA, while Washington is one of the most consistent players of San Miguel." - KY, GMA News