Rain or Shine Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao has no issue with Filipino hoopers taking their talent elsewhere. In fact, he believes this talent exodus is a good thing, even if it doesn’t necessarily reflect well on the current state of the league he’s coaching in—the PBA.
“That’s good. It’s really good because if you notice, these players that go abroad, they come back here and they’re better,” Guiao pointed out when asked on the most recent Let It Fly Podcast about the trend of talented Filipino basketball players going to the Japan B.League, the KBL, and elsewhere outside the PBA. “If they’re exposed to a different environment and that environment makes them better, we better look at that environment and see what’s making them better there… They compete. The problem with us is there’s only four or five teams that can really compete… So, there’s something wrong…”
Indeed, guys like Kai Sotto and Kevin Quiambao have gotten better since playing overseas. But if there’s something wrong, what exactly could it be?
A Matter of Money First, Money Second
Guiao, who has never been shy about voicing his unfiltered opinion, pointed out that this exodus of stars to international leagues is a “symptom” of a larger problem. And this problem, it appears, is rooted in money—or the lack of it for some teams in the PBA.
“What we see now is the symptom. This is just the symptom of our really good players going abroad… It’s because the PBA cannot afford what these other teams abroad are paying. It’s simple economics,” said Guiao, who bared point-blank that PBA teams aren’t exactly making money.
This inability to make money, according to Guiao, puts PBA teams at a disadvantage against franchises in other leagues abroad, which he says are actually profitable. And with players overseas reportedly earning upwards of ₱700,000 a month, it appears the feisty mentor is onto something.
“The problem is the PBA business model is the same business model when the PBA started. The [Japan] B.League business model, the Taiwanese business model, the KBL business model—they make money out of their teams,” Guiao continued. “PBA teams don’t make money. It’s all advertising… Our business model never changed, so you still can’t afford to pay the players a higher salary because the teams don’t make money. You have to make the teams make money, you have to change the business model…”
Again, Guiao is right. The PBA last adjusted the salary cap in 2011, when the Board of Governors approved an increase from the previous ₱350,000 to ₱420,000. Now, 15 years later, the maximum salary players can receive continues to be ₱420,000, with PBA teams allowed to spend a maximum of ₱50 million in player salaries.
Satisfied With the Status Quo?
What Guiao can’t fathom is the PBA’s seeming reluctance to make sweeping changes for the better, telling the Let It Fly hosts that he believes the PBA is aware of the problem, especially since “they’re smart people.”
“I just don’t know why they keep playing under the status quo,” Guiao said.
But if it were up to him, he’d like the PBA to revisit its business model and adopt changes that will help teams actually make a profit from fielding a squad in Asia’s first and oldest pay-for-play basketball league.
“Our salary cap for players has been the same since 10 years ago… Maybe they [PBA] should take a look at our business model,” Guiao reiterated. “If the teams are making more money instead of just trying to fill the gap because they can’t make enough money to sustain the whole expense of the team. If they can make more money than that, that’s going to go to the players.”
Make more money. That seems to be the solution to the current talent exodus in the local game. It sounds simple and straightforward, right?
There’s just one problem: How can the PBA even do that?
