MANILA — Chito Narvasa is still the PBA commissioner… for now.
No less than the commissioner himself told the media in a press conference on Thursday night at the PBA office in Quezon City that he is not stepping down as the league’s chieftain despite an agreement reached by seven teams during an emergency meeting that his term will not be extended.
“If it’s for principle, then I must stay,” said Narvasa. “I’m fighting for the Office of the Commissioner, and nobody, no matter how powerful they are, should be able to frighten, scare, intimidate, and threaten it in any way.”
However, he admitted that he came close to quitting his post that he held for two seasons.
“Sabi ko, ‘Tama na ito. I can always leave. I’ll be OK. Ayokong may kaaway. Masaya ako sa PBA. I’ll sacrifice for them. That’s all we need,'” Narvasa, aware that the recent events somehow put his tenure as commissioner in peril, shared what he told his family. “I’m willing to resign. It hurts. I’ve served as well as I could. I sacrificed for it.”
It was only through a series of talks with some of his personal acquaintances that he made up his mind on staying.
“I asked some of my advisers, my lawyers, my brother, and a close friend of mine, and they said, ‘You know what, Chito? You should stay,'” Narvasa told their unified advice.
He also added what the five PBA governors who did not show up at the said emergency meeting said: “We’ll not fight them. We’re just fighting for the principle that a rule has to be followed.”
The said group, the SMC umbrella, Kia, and GlobalPort, issued an earlier statement expressing its full support to Narvasa.
Narvasa hopes that a final decision will be reached about his future in the league.
“I hope that the board will be able to determine clearly what is the right procedure and process. They should come up with the right decision,” he said. (Ivan Stewart Saldajeno/PNA)
