by Dave Albarado
It is not good to mess with the GAB
A PBA 3×3 player from San Miguel Beer just got blacklisted by the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) for failure to show up in a video conference on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021.
Daniel de Guzman, was summoned by the GAB, to shed light on alleged involvement in game fixing activities and gambling.
GAB chairman Abraham Mitra said administrative proceedings shall start where De Guzman risks the possibility of losing his professional basketball player license.
“He shall not be allowed to use his license in the meantime and if proven guilty, he may lose his professional basketball players license,” Mitra said.
GAB scheduled a virtual Zoom conference for De Guzman on Friday to explain his side after screenshots of conversation that allegedly involved De Guzman went viral.
In the viral screenshots, a bettor appeared to have lost big wagers using a tip allegedly given by De Guzman, who was drafted by the Beermen 42nd overall in the 2019 PBA draft, and signed to a one-year contract.
De Guzman has been placed to the Beermen’s 3×3 team for this year, although it appears that he may not be able to play if his license is revoked.
The player has vehemently denied that the person in the screenshots is him, and that he is not involved in any gambling or game-fixing activities.
De Guzman needs to air his side as he puts in jeopardy his career as a professional basketball player.
This is not the first time there were insinuations of game fixing in local basketball. However, this is the first time in a long while where the person involved in alleged game fixing and gambling is a current PBA player.
The GAB needs to get into the bottom of this issue as it may hurt the name of the league already suffering because of the pandemic.
The PBA, prior to the pandemic, has been suffering from low attendance and now has resorted to a bubble because of the pandemic with the games are being played sans an audience.
Fans are moving away from the league due to lack of parity and the issue on game fixing will severely hurt the league’s name.