In 2007, after Noli Eala was forced to resign by the Philippine Basketball Association as commissioner due to his disbarment, two candidates were up for the position: former telecommunications executive Lambert Ramos and lawyer Chito Salud. Neither man had enough votes to be appointed commissioner; San Miguel, Ginebra, Coke, Welcoat, and Red Bull – the SMC bloc – voted for Salud, while Air 21, Alaska, Sta. Lucia, and Talk N Text – the MVP bloc – voted for Ramos.

However, each man needed six out of the nine votes (voting rights haven’t been restored to Purefoods at the time) to be appointed commissioner. Unable to break the deadlock, the board decided to appoint Renauld “Sonny” Barrios, who at the time was OIC of the PBA, to the commissionership full time.

Salud was brought in as deputy commissioner in 2010, which everyone understood as a signal that Barrios was on his way out. Observers said that the replacement pointed to the increasing disenchantment of the Talk N Text squad over how the officiating in the PBA was done under Barrios, which was highlighted by the team’s walkout during the 2010 PBA Philippine Cup. The move to bring in Salud, who had been the favored candidate of the SMC bloc in the previous round of voting, couldn’t have happened without the blessing off the influential MVP bloc.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise that Barrios now finds himself appointed as executive director of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, which is headed by Manny Pangilinan, replacing Eala.

Then again, this is the second time that this exact same thing happened.

When Eala’s disbarment was first announced, the former commissioner was determined to stay in the position. He was confident about holding on to office, because he enjoyed the support of the SMC bloc. However, the rest of the PBA board, led by then-chairman Ricky Vargas, Pangilinan’s right hand man, voted to kick him out of office, so Eala was forced to resign. It was, in fact, the initiative of the MVP bloc that led to Eala’s ouster.

A year or so later, Eala was appointed executive director of the SBP.

A few months ago, I was exchanging emails with a veteran journalist (not Quinito Henson) talking about Eala’s impending departure from the basketball federation. Even then, we knew it was only a matter of time before he was kicked out, because of a controversy over his failure to liquidate millions of pesos in funds, which may or may not have affected the reported delays in salary of Smart Gilas players. The veteran journalist hinted that Barrios was being eyed to take over the federation, which, according to him, “will mark the second time Barrios will try to clean up the mess Eala left behind.”

I know a lot of fans are unhappy over the Sonny Barrios appointment; after all, Eala portrayed himself in the media as a dynamic innovator who is full of new ideas, while Barrios comes across as a clueless old fogey. There is some truth to those perceptions, although how much depends on whether you’re willing to buy the shit Eala is selling. I myself remember him as the guy who once tried to pitch the “three-point dunk” as an innovation in the PBA.

To my mind, Eala in fact set the bar at the SBP much lower for his successor. As long as Barrios manages to do the following:

1. not get embroiled in any controversy that involves millions of pesos in funds


2. make sure that the salaries of players and staff are released on time


3. not start feuds with other officials involved in basketball


4. foster a good working relationship with team managers, coaches, the PBA, the collegiate leagues instead of alienating them


5. not take passive-aggressive digs at national players such as Asi Taulava during Asian competition, even though he did not recruit them to the team


6. behave well enough so media members won’t start a “We Hate D.Monyo” club against him

Then he would already be an unqualified success at the SBP helm.