The Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list on Thursday lauded the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) plan to review the Uniform Player’s Contract (UPC) of its players.
“Considering that the PBA’s UPC is already 40 years old and has not been amended since, it is high time that it be updated to better reflect the current realities of the local and global basketball community,” PBA Party-list spokesperson Atty. Migs Nograles said.
PBA governor Raymond Zorrilla said they will propose amendments regarding the expiration of players’ contracts, the use of player’s images even after retirement, and the sanctions to be meted for violators.
“Giving our players the flexibility to play in other leagues abroad for season-long stints and allowing them to keep their contractual obligations in the PBA will only serve to sharpen the skills of our athletes as they will be exposed to different playing styles. Kumbaga parang nag-unpaid leave of absence lang,” she added.
PBA governor Raymond Zorrilla of Phoenix Super LPG earlier said the PBA Board is looking to enforce several changes for future seasons to allow the league to adjust with the developments in global basketball.
The UPC contains each player’s contractual obligations to their mother teams. It was recently put under the spotlight when the NLEX Road Warriors’s Kiefer Ravena decided to play for the Shiga Lakestars in the Japan B.League despite signing a three-year extension with NLEX.
When Ravena signed with the Shiga Lakestars last year, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial made it clear that the former had violated the UPC since he had an existing contract with the Road Warriors. The UPC bars him from playing in any other league outside the PBA.
However, although the PBA resisted in allowing Ravena from seeing action in the B.League as his signed contract was also binding with the league’s UPC, the Road Warriors decided to release him and allowed him to pursue his aspirations playing for the Lake Stars.
Zorrilla said they will propose amendments regarding the expiration of players’ contracts, the use of player’s images even after retirement, and the sanctions to be meted for violators.
PBA governor Raymond Zorrilla of Phoenix Super LPG earlier said the PBA Board is looking to enforce several changes for future seasons to allow the league to adjust with the developments in global basketball.
“The world of basketball is becoming a global community with borders slowly being blurred given the number of foreign players in the different leagues. At the end of the day, what we want is the development of the athlete because that will be put to good use when the time comes that they play for our flag,” Nograles said.
