One day after PBA comissioner Chito Salud made the decision to hand Renaldo Balkman a lifetime ban from the league after his meltdown last Friday, actor Robin Padilla took to Instagram to express his support for the commissioner, whom he said he would go to war with anytime.
San Miguel Corporation, which owns the Petron Blaze Boosters, has accepted the PBA’s decision to impose a ban on Renaldo Balkman after the import’s meltdown last Friday against Alaska.
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.
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.
The PBA has banned Petron Blaze import Renaldo Balkman from the league after his meltdown last Friday against the Alaska Aces.
The league made the announcement Monday afternoon on its official Twitter account after commissioner Chito Salud met with the import in the morning.
Balkman was in the midst of his worst game of the tournament against the Aces, scoring just six points after averaging 28 in his first six matches. After being called for a foul late in the game, Balkman confronted all three game referees.
Petron coaches and players tried to calm Balkman down to no avail. The import got into a shoving match with Petron co-captain Arwind Santos, a scene that ended with Balkman grabbing at his teammate’s neck.
Balkman has since apologized publicly for his actions, and the Boosters joined him at the PBA office as a show of support.
But Salud did not seem to buy Balkman’s explanation. Apart from the ban, the PBA also meted a P250,000 fine on the former New York Knicks draft pick.
For five straight game, Renaldo Balkman was the hero for the Petron Blaze Boosters’ winning run.
But the former New York Knicks first round pick was frustrated all game against Alaska Friday night, as Petron saw its winning streak snapped.
Balkman melted down near the end of the game, confronting all three referees after committing a foul with 21.6 seconds left.
Petron assistant coach Biboy Ravanes and teammate Ronald Tubid tried to pacify the import, but were shoved away by Balkman.
Boosters co-captain Arwind Santos took his turn to try calming down Balkman, but was also pushed away. Santos responded with a push of his own, before Balkman grabbed at his neck.
Teammates and coaches had to come in and separate the two players, before Balkman was finally calmed down and subbed out.
The big boys are back for the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup! With no height
limit and 10 new faces, the action promises to be titanic. Who will
stand tallest? Here’s an early look.
Justin Williams, GlobalPort Batang Pier
Williams is one of the more intriguing imports in the upcoming
conference. He wrapped up his college career at Wyoming with averages of
11 points, 11 rebounds and 5.4 blocks per game. He followed that up
with a nice stretch with the Dakota Wizards in the NBA D-League where he
posted averages of 12-12-3 before receiving a 10-day contract with the
Sacramento Kings in 2007. He played a total of 49 games with two teams
in the NBA.
The 6-foot-10 Williams is a nice athlete with length and timing so
he’s expected to shine on the defensive end. He has good instincts when
it comes to blocking shots, and is a smart team defender. He’s also a
strong rebounder with a quick second jump. He looks to have the
potential to be a huge presence defensively, something the Batang Pier
will surely appreciate.
Offensively, he may be a little limited, but is a decent enough
finisher around the rim to make an impact. He probably won’t be coming
out and scoring 30 a game like some imports do. He was being asked by
GlobalPort’s front office to be more aggressive offensively, but that
probably won’t be as much of an issue after the additions of Sol Mercado
and Japeth Aguilar to an offensively-loaded lineup that already
features Gary David and Willie Miller.
He was put under evaluation by GlobalPort when he first arrived here,
but has played well enough in practices and tuneup games to keep his
spot. Right now, he’s looking like an excellent fit for a team that
badly needs a defensive anchor. He’ll form a lengthy, athletic duo with
Aguilar up front, and it will be interesting to see if the newly-rebuilt
Batang Pier can make a splash as contenders right off the bat.
Evan Brock, Barako Bull Energy Colas
Brock is not a complete stranger to Philippine soil. The 2012 ASEAN
Basketball League finals Most Valuable Player led his Indonesia Warriors
past the hometown San Miguel Beermen last year, clinching the title in a
tight contest here at the Ynares Sports Arena.
The PBA is a different league from the ABL, of course, but there
aren’t a lot of reasons to think that Brock couldn’t replicate some of
his success here. After all, he averaged an impressive 21.7 points and
13.7 rebounds in the three-game finals series against the Beermen, a
team that featured two of last year’s Commissioner’s Cup imports in Nick
Fazekas and Duke Crews as well as PBA top pick June Mar Fajardo.
The 6-foot-8 Brock is a guy that plays above the rim with ease. In
the ABL, a good chunk of his highlight reel consists of him flushing
home alley-oops from teammates in transition. He likes to get up and
down the court and that should make him easy for local fans to like. He
uses his athleticism not just on offense, but also to challenge shots
and grab boards.
It’s hard to say what the fortunes for Barako Bull will be like this
conference. They’ll have a new person calling the shots in team
consultant Rajko Toroman, a new system in place, and a bunch of new
players from the five-team deal last month. Brock and his teammates will
have a lot to learn on the fly but they’ll definitely be an
entertaining team to catch this conference.
Michael Dunigan, Air 21 Express
Dunigan took an interesting route to the pros, ending his collegiate
career at Oregon after his sophomore season, where he averaged a modest
9.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, to play professionally
in Israel.
He had nice stints in Europe, recording 12.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and
1.7 blocks in Ukraine and 11.1 points, 8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in
Estonia, before receiving an invite to the Memphis Grizzlies training
camp alongside former PBA import Jarrid Famous over the offseason.
Unfortunately for Dunigan, he was unable to lock down a roster spot in
the NBA. He then played four games in Australia where he posted 13.8
points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.
The 6-foot-10 Dunigan is a strong interior threat who has improved
his mobility and athleticism since turning pro after he lost 30 pounds.
He’ll be comfortable in a role where he gets plenty of touches in the
paint, having already done that with some teams in the past. He’s a nice
finisher around the basket, and has shown the ability to draw fouls at a
decent rate.
The Air 21 franchise seemed to have turned a corner in the Philippine
Cup, finishing out of the cellar in the standings after three straight
conferences in the bottom. Dunigan is going to try to keep that momentum
going this conference, even after the two teams the Express topped last
conference retooled with big trades over the break.
Renaldo Balkman, Petron Blaze Boosters
Balkman likely has the best pedigree among this crop of imports.
Local basketball fans will undoubtedly remember the dreadlocked energy
guy drafted 20th overall by the New York Knicks in 2006. He’s a
legitimate NBA guy who played six season with the Knicks, the Nuggets
and the Knicks again. Balkman played about 62 games in each of his first
three years while logging around 15 minutes per game. He’s a also a
veteran of the international game, representing Puerto Rico alongside
guys like JJ Barea and Carlos Arroyo.
His numbers won’t blow you away, but like many other NBA role
players, the boxscore doesn’t tell much of the story. His best season,
statistically, was his rookie year when he averaged a modest 4.9 points
and 4.3 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game.
Bbut for stat-heads who like advanced statistics, that’s actually a
near double-double — 11.3 points and 9.9 rebounds — if you extrapolate
his numbers to 36 minutes instead of that 15 he actually played).
But he’s not the biggest guy, which is interesting in a conference
where there isn’t a height limit. Early in his career, Balkman was
measured at just a shade above 6-foot-5 without shoes, although he makes
up for it with his 7-foot-1 wingspan. He’s shown he can be a pretty
decent rebounder, though, even when playing the 3-spot, and there’s
little reason to think that wouldn’t translate to his PBA stint. He has a
reputation for being good in anticipating where balls go, which
contributes in his ability to track down boards and loose balls.
Balkman is an interesting choice for Petron Blaze, which has more
than enough offensive firepower to have an import who might not be a
dominant offensive player but will definitely be a major presence on the
defensive end. His smaller size might mean he won’t be taking minutes
away from rookie big man June Mar Fajardo, whose continued development
will be something to watch for this conference.
If Balkman can get the rest of this deep, talented squad to play hard
for 48 minutes by leading by example, then Petron should be a real
contender this conference.
“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
