TNT hits out at Narvasa for "biased" comments on Kia-SMB swap

TNT believes the PBA fans were robbed of a possibility to see Junemar Fajardo going up against Chris Standhardinger.

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--The PBA Draft may be over already.

But the drama continues.

TNT called out PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa for his comments following the approval of the trade that sent the number one pick of the draft to San Miguel from Kia.

[Related Story: On third try, Kia-SMB trade for top pick finally approved]

The Beermen used the pick on former Basketball Bundesliga all-star Chris Standhardinger.

[Related Story: Standhardinger, Ravena headline 2017 PBA Draft class]

In a particular part of the press conference that he called on Friday night at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue to announce that the trade is on, Narvasa bared that the KaTropa's assistant team manager Magnum Membrere was the one who submitted Standhardinger's draft application way before Standhardinger's agent made his own submission of his client's draft papers.

However, TNT clarified in a statement on Sunday night that Membrere came there as part of Gilas' own management team and not by TNT's.

"Magnum Membrere was there as a representative of Smart Gilas. It was a sincere gesture to assist Standhardinger with a basic admin filing process because he flew back to Germany after the SEA Games," the statement read.

The statement then bared a story on how Standhardinger was convinced to declare for the draft despite already committing to Eastern for the upcoming ABL season.

"Comm. Chito talked to CS in Lebanon to join the draft dahil alam niya [na] manipis at walang dating [ang draft class ngayon]," The KaTropa's statement continued. "He cleared that it would be OK for CS to miss the draft camp and have a proxy to submit his application since he will be out of the country. So of course ibang tao ang nag-submit."

TNT then blasted Narvasa, saying, "[There is] no logical reason to divulge the info other than a futile and pathetic attempt to take the spotlight off him. [The] TNT mgt. resents the statement of Comm. Narvasa as it is uncalled for. [It] just proves that he is biased. Why did he have to use us to justify his decision?"

The KaTropa even think Narvasa's approval of the trade just put more questions on whether he is fit for the commissioner's role.

"His decision robs the PBA of the dynamism, excitement, and suspense that a player of CS's caliber would bring going up against [Junemar] Fajardo. If the commissioner does not see this simple perspective, he may not be the right person for the job. We are afraid as to who should be the custodian of the PBA's paramount interest. He talks about parity equilibrium for trades, but where is it?" they asked.

They ended their statement with their support to the fans who got irked following the approval of the swap.

"[The] people have spoken. Comm. Chito, listen to the feedback!" they pleaded.

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