by Dave Albarado

PBA  experiences existential crisis

After getting some of the best young Filipino basketball players, Japan B. League teams are looking at signing  Filipino big men.
Barangay Ginebra center-forward Christian Standhardinger and Magnolia’s center Ian Sangalang are reportedly among the top targets of some Japan B. League teams for  Filipino players under the league’s Asian Players’ Quota program, reports say.
The interest in Standhardinger and the other Filipino big men is something that should not come as a surprise.
We all know that the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger can help boost any B. League team’s frontline, and these teams can opt to get a smaller world import who can score the lights out or cause a mayhem from the perimeter or make it difficult for defenders to help in a pick and roll situation.
Sources of the Hoop Insider confirmed that Standhardinger, acquired by Ginebra in a blockbuster trade for Greg Slaughter just last March, has a contract that expires in December 2021; and has yet to sign an extension with the Gin Kings as of this writing. 
Standhardinger’s contract with Ginebra actually expired back in August 2021, but all contracts have been unilaterally extended by the league until the end of the year amid the challenges of the pandemic.
It is said that Standhardinger’s agent is based abroad. The agent is able to deal directly with Japanese teams:
Sources are saying that Japanese teams offer at least thrice the maximum salary allowed by the PBA salary cap.
On the other hand, Sangalang’s contract with Magnolia is also expiring.
As of this writing, there is no extension contract that has been signed.  Insiders say that there has been negotiations for a new contract between Magnolia and Sanggalang’s camp.
However, Ian hasn’t signed the dotted line on a new contract with the Hotshots.
This brings us to the dire situation facing the PBA. We can say that the exodus of PBA players and Gilas mainstays to Japan brings an existential crisis to the Filipino league. The PBA’ knee-jerk reaction to this problem is to ban the players who will dodge the draft or impose sanctions if they renege contracts and choose to play in Japan instead of staying here in the country.
The quick answer to this existential crisis is to do away with the Fil-foreign limit where each PBA team is only allowed 5 Filipinos who hold dual citizenship to be included in a team’s roster.
This way, more Fil-foreigners can be recruited and be able to play in the PBA. The catch is that they can play professionally after high school as long as they are able to secure a passport before turning 16 years old or be able to play for Batang Gilas.
The Japan B. League teams are not allowed to get Filipinos with dual citizenship except if they have played for Gilas at least once.
The de Liano brothers, Dwight Ramos, Kobe Paras, and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. are all dual citizens but they have appeared in an official FIBA game  and represented the Philippines. This is also the same with Standhardinger. In fact, this can also apply with Angelo Kouame if he chooses to play in Japan.
We can also open the league to Pinoys overseas who are not Fiba eligible.By opening the league to Fil-foreign players who are not eligible to play in Gilas, the PBA can be rest assured that these players will not be recruited to play in the land of the rising sun—however, the Australian league and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) are different stories.
We can let the non-Fiba eligible Fil-foreign players play in the PBA as long as they are able to play at least a conference in the PBA D-League, the college leagues or other professional leagues.
The second possible solution to the PBA’s existential crisis is to allow naturalized players who have played in the UAAP to play in the league. We can also allow those who are able to play as locals with Batang Gilas. This way, we will encourage more naturalized players to come here and possibly represent the Philippines, and improve our talent stock. Having foreign big men in the league will help provide the right amount of challenge to our homegrown big men.
If we are going to choose this path, we need to come up with legislation where we can grant citizenship to people with potentially great athletic talent before they turn 16 years old and let them play in Batang Gilas and also in local leagues. If the PBA is willing, the league can adopt a policy of allowing these naturalized players to play as professionals at an early age just like what the Europeans are doing.
This way, we will have a plethora of players with great athleticism and height, eligible to play as locals in Fiba tournaments and help stymie the exodus of great young Filipino players to Japan, China or Australia.If we are able to grant citizenship before the age of 16 and let these players play in domestic leagues like the UAAP or the PBA or even the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), we may be able to improve Gilas’ talent stock. This will help the Gilas Women too in improving their ability to compete after they were massacred by China after losing by 91 points.The problem of the PBA has something to do with its system. Fans are losing interest in the PBA due to the lack of parity as the independent teams are struggling to gain a playoff spot as the bottom teams keep on trading their marquee players to richer teams like the ones owned by San Miguel Corporation or the teams owned by corporations controlled by Manny V. Pangilinan.
The independent teams are left with roll players and the richer teams are able to build all-star squads. Just look at the line-up of Talk N Text, it is virtually filled with Gilas players. The San Miguel Beermen have players who can win the most valuable player award and even have 2 number 1 picks playing and a top 2 pick serving as a back-up center! Compare this with the members of the line-up of the other teams who are contented with role players just like what Alaska or Blackwater has.The lack of parity in the league is not helping the cause of the Filipino league and this could be the reason the PBA could be on its way towards extinction. Of course, the PBA cannot compete toe to toe with the astronomical salaries offered in Japan, China or Australia, in the short term. The PBA needs to reinvest in itself and possibly look for ways to make the salaries and benefits offered to players more competitive or lucrative a bit, or close to what the foreign leagues offer. This way the Filipino players will choose to stay here instead of opt to play abroad.