This is a guest post from Raymond.
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The latest news (or rumors, if you may) from hoops.blink.ph reports, “And the rich get richer, Arwind Santos to SMB?“:

The current PBA finals is still up and running but it seems to be shadowed by the latest possible PBA trade: Arwind Santos to the San Miguel Beermen.

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The same star-studded SMB team with arguably no “banko” type players (Bono was a UAAP MVP, Eman is a former no. 1 overall draft pick, and Chris Calaguio is a grizzled veteran), now gets Arwind Santos, MVP candidate for the past 2 seasons and arguably among the top 3 local players in the PBA.

The PBA should just be renamed as San Miguel Corp. Invitational Tournament. This “league” is just making a mockery of the fans’ interest and affection (not to mention their pockets).

Notice how teams would end up bunched up all together after the elimination rounds; practically every team has a fighting chance to make it to the next round (equal marketing exposure). And notice that even if the SMC teams have superior line ups, they don’t end up altogether in the semis, a maximum of two SMC teams just qualify for the semis at any given tournament. Of course, they all belong to one “association”; that’s why non-SMC teams are allowed to have their share of semis exposure just the same. What happens is that the SMC teams are just rotating on who will advance on to the latter rounds from tournament to tournament. Continue reading →