Aces owner alarmed over new rule

By Nelson Beltran
Philippine Star
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Alaska Milk team owner Wilfred Steven Uytengsu has appealed to the PBA board of governors to re-evaluate the league’s new policy on officiating this early, wary it may result to career-ending injuries for players or, worse, trigger on-court hooliganism.

Uytengsu, a former PBA board chairman, wrote current league chair Tony Chua yesterday, saying the “no-advantage, no-foul” rule may do more harm than good to the league.

This developed as league officer-in-charge Sonny Barrios meted Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao a one-game suspension in the aftermath of his outburst at the end of their game against Ginebra Friday.

Guiao’s outburst was triggered by a confusion on an inbound play by Ginebra in the closing seconds. Soon after the game ended, Guiao walked across the court and berated PBA technical chief Perry Martinez.

“At this early stage of the season, we can expect a lot of wear and tear on our players and possibly the recurrence of injuries. This will no doubt have a negative impact on attendance of the PBA when our top players are sitting on the bench,” said Uytengsu.

“In the late 80s and early 90s, the ‘no harm, no foul’ rule was adopted with pathetic results. The league experimented by trying to make the game more exciting. What resulted was a basketball marked by hooliganism from both players and fans alike,” Uytengsu also said.

“The game does have its risks such as the career-ending injury of Eugene Tejada and that was under controlled rules. With the new liberal rules, it is just a matter of time before we witness another career-ending injury,” Uytengsu added.

The outspoken Alaska team owner noted the dramatic change in the complexion of the game with the application of the new rules, ruing numerous hard fouls, flagrant fouls and myriad of near fights marking the first week of action in the Smart Philippine Cup.

“This has encouraged players to now play defense by pushing, shoving, holding and even elbowing which is certainly not in the spirit of the game,” said Uytengsu.

Uytengsu doubted the game has become more exciting since it has become rough and physical.

“Do we really want to encourage play that can result injury to our players? Will this really make the league more exciting? And will this be a good example to our youth who look up to the PBA players as stars and even role models?” he asked.

Barrios didn’t fine Guiao, saying the suspension is severe enough a punishment.

Before handing the verdict, Barrios had a brief discussion with Guiao behind closed doors. The league OIC described their meeting as “very professional” with the Red Bull coach conducting himself as a sportsman.

“Basically, Yeng’s concern centers on the interpretation of the refs on the new rules. He said a lot of unnecessary contacts are being allowed and players get hurt,” Barrios said.