PBA legend Ramon Fernandez (left). Photo from Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/fileMANILA — The PBA will be celebrating its 50th Season later this year, and among its plans is to complete its list of the 50 Greatest Players in its history.
Asia’s first pay-for-play league will have a grand 50th-anniversary celebration in April, which is why PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial is now laying the groundwork for one of their projects.
Marcial announced the composition of a select panel, which is bannered by four-time MVP Ramon Fernandez, fellow league MVPs Atoy Co and Allan Caidic, and the PBA legends will help in determining the 10 deserving honorees who are going to be added to the 40 Greatest Players earlier named by the league.
Aside from Fernandez, Co, and Caidic — all part of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players of All Time — also part of the selection committee are names which are able to witness how the PBA grew and evolved throughout the years.
Former champion coach Dante Silverio, former league commissioner Renauld 'Sonny' Barrios, former sports editors Ding Marcelo (Bulletin), Al Mendoza (Philippine Daily Inquirer), The Philippine Star sports editor Nelson Beltran, who is also president of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) are in the panel, and also joining them are and veteran broadcasters Quinito Henson and Andy Jao.
The panel convenes on February 6 in what Marcial said would be a series of meetings to determine the rightful names that will comprise the new list of the PBA's Greatest Players.
Marcial said that he and some members of the league will help facilitate the nomination and eventually, the selection process, but one of the highest probable names to be included is San Miguel Beermen superstar June Mar Fajardo.
"Isa-suggest ko na rin na si June Mar pasok na, pero depende pa rin yan sa committee. Magpa-facilitate lang naman yung PBA," said Marcial of the eight-time league MVP.
The commissioner added he's going to suggest that the panel take a look at the players by batches starting in the league's inception in 1975 in order not to miss out on possible names deserving to be included in the list.