Former Barangay Ginebra San Miguel forward Jamie Malonzo is facing an uncertain future after being cut by Kyoto Hannaryz, which previously recruited the high-flying Fil-Am to play in the Japan B.League.
But shortly after Malonzo signed with Kyoto, the PBA announced its infamous three-year ban that prohibits players from returning to Asia’s first and oldest pay-for-play league after taking their act overseas—even if their contract with their mother team has expired.
The ruling obviously covers Malonzo, who is now a free agent without a pathway back to the PBA. He isn’t eligible to play in the KBL either, as he is a half-blood. Once one of the league’s rising stars, the former La Salle Green Archer can only hope another Japan B.League squad gives him a chance, or else he’s facing the prospect of landing in the MPBL. He might be paid handsomely there regardless, but it just isn’t the PBA. Neither is it the KBL or the Japan B.League, especially in terms of competition.
A Backdoor to the PBA Is Apparently Open for Jamie Malonzo
For all that uncertainty, there’s apparently a backdoor open for Jamie Malonzo to return to the PBA—and to Ginebra specifically, as it still owns the Gilas mainstay’s signing rights. That option, according to veteran sports scribe Quinito Henson, is for Malonzo to appeal his case to the PBA Board of Governors.
“Under PBA rules, Malonzo will sit out three years before returning to the league. But he may appeal to the Board for a reprieve,” wrote Henson in his Sporting Chance column for The Philippine Star.
In such a case, Jamie Malonzo will have to hope that the Board—the same one that passed the three-year ban to begin with—would reduce said ban so that the former Ginebra forward can come back sooner. As of press time, there’s no news yet as to whether Malonzo has taken this approach, although he previously intimated that he has gotten interest from other Japan B.League teams.
For now, it’s a waiting game for Jamie Malonzo.
