A Hidden Hero of Our Gilas Triumph

"Let's give it our best shot. No holds barred na 'to. Todo na talaga."

These words rang through my mind yesterday as I was reflecting on the huge feat achieved by Gilas Pilipinas's silver medal finish in the 2013 FIBA Asia Men's Championship. 

I remembered the moment I heard those words.

I remembered sitting on a couch one May afternoon, listening intently to this man in front of me talk about his passion for basketball and his belief that Filipino hoops talent deserves to be on the world stage.

"Qualifying to the FIBA World Cup is a dream," said PBA Commissioner Chito Salud. "Alam naman ng lahat how strong China and Iran are. May Lebanon pa, at Jordan, at South Korea, but do we give up just because malalakas sila?"

PBA Commish Chito Salud is one of the
unheralded heroes of Gilas's successful campaign.
(image by Nuki Sabio/PBA.ph)

Fighting words from a man who knows how it is to transform a struggling underdog into a mighty canine. 


This is what the Commish did with the PBA, after all. 

When Comm. Salud took over in August of 2010 (he is the second Salud to be the league's Commissioner, since his father, Rudy, was Commissioner from 1988-1992), the PBA wasn't exactly the hottest item in sports entertainment. Most of the good players and popular stars were concentrated on only a handful of teams, the gate receipts left a lot to be desired, and many fans were turned off by the two-conference format.

Commissioner Salud changed all that.

First, he reinstated the three-conference format. This meant that each conference would have shorter elimination rounds and that each game would have more weight in determining a team's chances for qualifying to the next round. Comm. Salud also focused on making each conference's playoff/knockout rounds longer. 

"People like it more if games have higher stakes," he said during out interview. "Mas exciting kasi."

Then, he tried to curb the perceived lopsided climate of transactions in Asia's first play-for-pay league. 

"I made sure to really study all trades and signings," he said. "I wanted to make sure that there would be more parity, kaya lahat talaga pinag-aralan at dumaan sa Commissioner."

Based on the results of the past few conferences, it seems the objective of greater parity has, indeed, been met. Ever since Comm. Salud took over, nine of the ten franchises have been able to reach the conference championship series at least once, with five different teams -- Talk N Text, Alaska, B-Meg, Rain or Shine, and Petron -- all winning at least once.

Naturally, the gate receipts have yielded higher profits, too.

Perhaps, however, the most nationally significant footprint Comm. Salud has made is paving the way for more PBA players to be made available for national team duty. Upon Comm. Salud's urging, practically all PBA players were fair game when it came time for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes to name his desired roster composition. This was an important development, especially considering that Gilas was backed principally by the MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan) Group of Companies and that three (3) PBA franchises were under MVP's rival corporate conglomerate, San Miguel Corporation (Petron, B-Meg, and Ginebra).

In doing this, the PBA was able to reinforce the Gilas squad in a better way than it did in 2011, when only Kelly Williams, Ranidel De Ocampo, and Jimmy Alapag (all from Talk N Text) were released for national team duty. Consequently, this upped the level of talent and experience in Gilas's roster, and it played a big part in the team's current level of success (WORLD CUP BEYBEH!!!).

In my interview with Comm. Salud, he reiterated many times how he believed that Filipino basketball was undoubtedly world class.

In particular, one statement stands out.

"Some people say, 'Wala na kayo e,'" he passionately said. "Siguro nga sa world, mahirap. Pero sa Asia, kayang-kaya pa. Bigay na natin yung todo natin para magka-alaman na tayo."

By making the choices he has made as the PBA Commissioner, Mr. Salud not only improved the PBA in terms of its marketability to sponsors and its relevance to the fans, but also allowed Philippine basketball to give all it can give (bigay todo).

This is why, as we continue to feel the residual high of Gilas's successful showing in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, let us not forget to thank one of the campaign's hidden heroes -- Commissioner Chito Salud.

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