THE Philippine Basketball Association announced late Wednesday night that it had elevated commissioner Chito Narvasa to the position of Chief Executive Officer, the post vacated by erstwhile league chair Chito Salud when he resigned late last year.
Prior to this promotion of Narvasa, PBA Chairman Robert Non took over the CEO role on a temporary basis.
Now, Narvasa is expected to do a dual-role and fulfill the duties of both commissioner and CEO for the league.
As commissioner, Narvasa monitors happenings in the games’ aspect on a daily basis, while as CEO, he will be tasked to lead the administrative and marketing side of the league as well.
Meanwhile, action continues in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup with two of the top three teams taking part.
League-leading Meralco (5-1) wants to keep its place at the top and bounce back as well when it goes up against sister team NLEX (2-3) at 4:15 p.m. to start things off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Following this is a battle of Goliaths as rivals San Miguel Beer (3-1), red hot with three straight wins, and Rain or Shine (2-3), collide at 7 p.m. in the main attraction.
The surprising Bolts saw their rousing start halted by the Beermen, 94-86, last Saturday in an out-of-town game in Legaspi City.
Meralco is now looking to get its bearings back against an inconsistent NLEX squad that needs a win to remain in the thick of things.
San Miguel is looking like a champion team, whose machine is well-oiled at this stage.
The Beermen have shown dominance with their current winning run as they have moved up to third and it’ll be a tough task for the Elasto Painters especially with the duo of SMB import Tyler Wilkerson and June Mar Fajardo now playing in full force.
But a possible win against San Miguel Beer could be just what Rain or Shine needs to finally get its act going.
The Painters have struggled thus far this conference and are in desperate need of another win to remain in contention.
The positive note for Rain or Shine is that star Paul Lee, who has yet to play a game this conference due to an injury, is most likely to make his return against San Miguel Beer, according to Painters’ coach Yeng Guiao.
Games Friday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum):
4:15 p.m. – Meralco vs. NLEX
7 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs. San Miguel