TnT’s Walkout = P1.25M
Gary Mercado February 9th, 2010 (Visited 372 times) Tags: controversy, PBA, scandal, talk n' text, walkout
PBA's latest news release reports thus:
PBA NEWS RELEASE FEBRUARY, 9, 2010
The walkout staged by Talk N’ Text that marred Game 4 of its quarterfinal match-up with Barangay Ginebra last Friday cost the Tropang Texters over P1 million in penalty.
Besides forfeiting Game 4 in favor of the Kings, PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios levied a P500,000 fine on Talk N’ Text, the amount of which shall be paid to Barangay Ginebra under section 32 of the PBA constitution and by-laws.
On top of that, TNT’s share in the gate receipts and TV revenues for that game, which could be anywhere from P200,000 to P250,000, has also been forfeited in favor of the nine other PBA ballclubs.
The commissioner also imposed an additional P500,000 fine which he said will go to the Players’ Educational Trust Fund for the benefit of the players and their dependents.
Barrios pointed out that the PBA and its teams serve different publics, foremost of which is the watching public, who happens to be the lifeblood of the league and whose interest the league has sworn to protect and hold as primordial.
“There are established rules and procedures to properly ventilate a team’s disagreement with officiating so that the fans do not become innocent and unwilling victims of a team’s protest over calls,” Barrios stressed.
A flagrant foul penalty 2 on Ranidel de Ocampo precipitated the Talk N’ Text walkout with still 60 seconds left in the first quarter and Ginebra ahead, 27-20.
The Kings eventually eliminated TNT by beating the Tropang Texters, 113-100, in the deciding Game 5 Sunday to advance to the semifinals of the KFC-PBA Philipppine Cup against Alaska.
Barrios expressed confidence that the Tropang Texters can rise above the adversity as shown by its all out effort in Game 5 of the quarterfinals.
So that's 500k + 200~250k + 500k = P1.250 give or take 50k.
Whew, makes me dizzy thinking about it.
But heck you know what? They deserve it. The moment that incident happened and they showed Manny Pangilinan walk out along with the team, I was thinking that if the league was to send a message, it better hurt, and hurt really really bad, enough for even Manny P to flinch.
To be honest, the incident really bothers me, inspite of the fact I've only written about it once. A walkout, see, isn't about basketball anymore. I mean hell, if it was then I'd gladly take the subject on and write more about it. But it isn't. Calling your troops to walk out of a contest is about your abilities as a leader and ultimately, about how mature you are in the face of adversity.
Everyone knows Ginebra is a powerhouse no matter what their lineup is. The love Ginebra fans give to their team is strong enough to always keep them in contention no matter what the odds. That makes them a perennial contender, year after year.
So what do you do if you're TnT, and you come across the team of all teams to beat?
Why, you fight tooth and nail of course, you take it up a notch higher than you do any other team, and you friggin' don't expect the refs to call it fair either.
But what do I know? The reason I didn't really wanna write about it is that I hate putting myself in any coaches' shoes, which looks like I'm pretending to know how to run a pro basketball team. But Jeeezus, they were only (reportedly) 11 pts. behind in the 1st quarter, with the game definitely still winnable! Isn't the best way to stick it to your enemy is to hang around and kick their asses on the court? Isn't the best way to prove you're better than the situation is to fucking WIN the damn thing?
But no, that's obviously not the answer. The answer is to walk out the game like a petulant, bratty child because you don't like how it's being called. Because the tide was turning against you, because you felt the whole league was against you. Well guess what? That's how it is, especially playing Ginebra, the darling of the League. And the right thing to do will always be the same - you could've gone ahead and tried to beat them regardless! There was certainly enough time!
And not to mention that in the process of this selfish act, you deprive the people of the game they paid to see.
Sigh.
At any rate, two best of sevens will start tomorrow, ftg. Ginebra vs. Alaska and Purefoods vs. SMB. The first an exciting rivalry that harkens back a generation ago, and the other, uhmm.. I'm not sure how exciting that'd be.
But at any rate, life goes on. Days after heads have cooled down and TnT gave away that game by forfeit, they lose the series altogether and are made to pay the price of a mid level car. Everyone gets to move on, except them of course, because they have to cough up the cash. Talo ka na nga, gagastos ka pa. And some of that cash goes to their opponent's wallet, serving as the proverbial rub just in case the salt on the wound doesn't hurt enough.
I hope it hurts, really. TnT can justify it all they like, but I can't see for the life of me how a walkout improves things and I doubt I ever will.
