But the conglomerate said in a statement that it will “re-evaluate” its continued participation in the professional league after the damage to its reputation caused by the incident.
“San Miguel Corporation would like to apologize to basketball fans and the Philippine Basketball Association, for the unsportsmanlike conduct shown by its import, Renaldo Balkman, last Friday, March 8. We accept the decision to ban Mr. Balkman for life from the league,” said the corporation in a statement“Unfortunately, the incident has been blown out of proportion and has damaged our good name. Already, news of the incident has spread throughout the country and overseas through traditional and online media.”
Apart from Petron, SMC owns Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the San Mig Coffee Mixers, the two most popular teams in the PBA. SMC has been a member of the PBA since the league’s inception in 1975 with the Petron franchise, which carried the Royal Tru-Orange, San Miguel Beer, and Magnolia brands.
SMC’s statement follows in full:
San Miguel Corporation would like to apologize to basketball fans and the Philippine Basketball Association, for the unsportsmanlike conduct shown by its import, Renaldo Balkman, last Friday, March 8. We accept the decision to ban Mr. Balkman for life from the league.source
We do not condone his actions. The mandate of our basketball operations has always been to entertain basketball fans and foster camaraderie and a spirit of healthy competition. We pride ourselves in having great teams who serve as good role models to the youth and community.
Unfortunately, the incident has been blown out of proportion and has damaged our good name. Already, news of the incident has spread throughout the country and overseas through traditional and online media.
Our reputation is of utmost importance to us because we have worked hard to cultivate this good name through the decades. But it takes only one unfortunate incident like this to undo all our efforts.
As such, given the possible long-term effect of this incident to the San Miguel organization’s image, and in consideration of our need to preserve our good reputation, Management has decided to re-evaluate the company’s continuing participation in the PBA.
Moving forward, we believe sports is a pillar of Philippine society and we will continue to support it and Filipino athletes in general in meaningful ways in and out of the PBA.
