FOUR days after being named as the pro league’s seventh
commissioner, Sonny Barrios still has to decide whether he would accept the job.
"It’s still in the balance," Barrios said in yesterday’s PSA
Forum at Shakey’s Restaurant along UN Avenue.
Barrios, an old hand in the PBA, said he has yet to consult
his family and his business partners regarding his recent appointment.
The PBA Board under Chairman Tony Chua of Red Bull named
Barrios as the replacement of the resigned Noli Eala last Thursday after failing
to make a choice between Lambert Ramos and Chito Salud.
If Barrios decides accept his appointment, he will stay only
until July when the 33rd season of the league ends.
Salud, a lawyer, has withdrawn from the race, but this does
not necessarily mean Ramos, a telecommunications executive, would get the job.
Barrios said it’s a pity the board, after so many days of
deliberation, failed to choose between Salud and Ramos who, he stressed, are
both capable of running the league.
Barrios said he’s not even sure what’s taking the board so
long to decide.
"I cannot speak for the board. How I wish they had resolved
this. Hindi na dapat nagka-ganoon. With the prestige and know-how these
gentlemen carry with them, they should have come up with a resolution," he said.
"When they named me officer-in-charge last August, it
happened because I was the only one who didn’t want to stay long. And now they
are asking me to stay longer. I have to resolve this."
Barrios said if he declines the position vacated by Eala last
year, he would go down in PBA history as the commissioner with the shortest
tenure.
"I need to consult not only my family but my business partners as well. And
they happen to be my brothers. I also want a consultation with the members of
the executive committee –Tony Chua, Joaqui Trillo, Robert Non and Ricky Vargas,"
he added.
