Former PBA commissioner Salud remembered

He was regarded as the man responsible for the revival of the popularity of the Philippine Basketball Association. It was under his watch when the pro league agreed to send the first-ever all-pro national men’s basketball team to the Asian Games, and when Asia’s pioneering pro league institutionalized the annual PBA All-Star Game.

These are some of the significant things to be remembered of former PBA commissioner Rudy Salud, who passed away on Monday due to heart failure. Multi-titled coaches Yeng Guiao of Rain or Shine and Tim Cone of Alaska, PBA analyst Andy Jao and long-time sportswriter and now PBA Press Corps president Tito Talao of Tempo recalled Salud’s contributions to the league that has been cherished by Filipino basketball fans for the past 36 years. “It was during the time of Commissioner Salud when I had my coaching debut in the PBA. I was young then. I knew him as a person with a strong personality and one who was highly-respected, but he was gentle with me, even if I am a coach with a temper," Guiao told GMA News in a telephone interview. From six teams from 1985 to 1989, the PBA made its first move to expand the team membership to eight. Two expansion squads entered the league in 1990 — Pepsi Cola and the RFM Group coached by Guiao. “He has done a lot of things for the league, but more than those, I will remember Commissioner Salud as the person he was. He was a commissioner who was very fair. He could stand up to the team owners, and the owners acceded to his decisions or opinions. And without disrespecting the past commissioners of the league, for me, Salud’s qualities make him the best ever commissioner in the PBA," added Guiao. Cone is the longest-tenured mentor in the pro league, and has won a total of 13 championships to become the second winningest coach in the all-time list. Like Guiao, the American mentor has good things to say of the former commissioner, who served the league as its founding legal counsel, as deputy commissioner of the late Mariano Yenko from 1986-87, and commissioner from 1988 to 1991. “He was my commissioner 21 years ago. I always remember him to be plain-speaking and straightforward, and he never seemed to have a personal agenda. It was always what’s best for the league. I liked and respected him greatly. Just like any of the great players — Jaworski, Fernandez, etc. — Rudy Salud was one of the greats. He will be terribly missed," said Cone in a text message. Jao remembered the time he worked with Salud in the PBA board during the mid-1980s. For the former team executive turned television analyst, the former commissioner should be credited for “bringing life back to a then struggling league." “He (Rudy) should be credited for the second coming of popularity of the PBA," said Jao. “There are several significant things which Salud did in the PBA. One of them was the revival of the public’s interest in the league. Remember, our league was down to six at that time. Then came the entry of Purefoods, which forged rivalries with Ginebra and San Miguel Beer. It was also under Salud when the growth of Alaska took place, and of course the balance of power among teams." According to Jao, Salud always found time to get the opinion of others when it came to decide on delicate matters. “Hindi siya takot to get the opinion of others, and that’s the good thing about him," added Jao, also the current team consultant of Rain or Shine. Talao, who has been covering the PBA for more than three decades, is convinced that it was during the time of Salud that the league reached the peak of its popularity after the famed Crispa-Toyota rivalry. “Who would forget the All-Star game when Mon Fernandez and Robert Jaworski conspired in the final play? That play completely overshadowed Boy Cabahug’s performance, even if he was named MVP of the All-Star Game. It was during the time of Salud that the PBA decided to institutionalize the All-Star Game," said Talao. "And it was during his time, too, the PBA Press Corps was born." The PBA had several All-Star games in its early years, according to basketball historian Jay P. Mercado of Pinoy Exchange and MYPBA sports forums. “There was this North versus South selections of players, and there was this All-Star Game that featured selected PBA players and imports like Larry McNeil and Dean Tolson of St. George/Gilbey’s Gin, Larry Pounds of Royal Tru-Orange, and Cyrus Mann of Crispa going up against the visiting NBA team Washington Bullets. There were also the exhibition games in the league’s early years when a barnstorming NBA selection led by Walt Fraizer, Earl 'The Pearl' Monroe, Clifford Ray, the late Randy Smith, and George McGinnis, who were culled from different teams, played in off-season matches," said Mercado, also a business development manager of a popular fast-food chain. “But it was during the time of Salud that the league decided to make it an annual classic, starting in 1989 when the Veterans led by Jaworski and Fernandez and handled by the legendary Baby Dalupan nosed out the young but talented Rookies, Sophomores and Juniors selection. It was a historic moment," added Mercado. One thing that made Salud different from previous commissioners was his strong conviction. “For a commissioner to impose a hefty P550,000 fine against the league’s most popular figure (Jaworski) and the most popular team (Añejo) for walking out of the game in a best-of-seven championship series speaks volumes of how strong Salud’s conviction was," said Mercado. Lawyer Percival Flores, another basketball historian who chronicles some of the PBA’s greatest moments, considers Salud as the key for the formation of Philippine basketball’s first-ever pro team to the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing. “Yes, it happened during the time of Salud," said Atty. Flores. “It's like saying na mas nauna pa tayo sa fabled Dream Team nina Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, which was only established in 1992. We were the first country to send an all-pro team when the open-basketball policy was implemented in 1989." Flores, legal counsel of a well-known real estate company, also credited Salud for ably working behind the scenes even if he had yet to be named the league’s commissioner. “Salud should be credited for maintaining parity in the league when he was commissioner. There was a time when it was like Ginebra versus the world in the PBA. And if I’m not mistaken, it was also Salud, then a deputy commissioner for Yenko, who initiated the implementation of a rule where premier big men like Mon Fernandez, Abet Guidaben and Manny Victorino could not play together in one team," added Flores. There are many ways to remember the man who became part of the institution’s success. Indeed, Atty. Rudy Salud will be remembered in many ways, especially by those who love and continued to follow the PBA. - KY, GMA News