Caidic says selection panel to choose most deserving players for PBA Greatest list

PBA icon Allan Caidic assures fans that he and the 10-man selection committee will pick the most deserving players who will be immortalized when the league celebrates its 50th anniversary

MANILA, Philippines – Determining the 10 newest additions to the PBA Greatest Players list is a tall order considering the abundance of notable candidates.

But league icon Allan Caidic assured fans that he and the 10-man selection committee will pick the most deserving players who will be immortalized when the PBA celebrates its 50th anniversary in April.

“The 10 of us have one goal: to make sure that the players we’ll choose are really worthy to be among the 50 greatest,” said the 1990 MVP in Filipino on Monday, February 10, during the unveiling of the 50th anniversary logo.

Aside from Caidic, bannering the selection panel are his fellow legends: four-time MVP and all-time PBA scoring leader Ramon Fernandez and 1979 MVP Atoy Co.

Five-time champion coach Dante Silverio, former PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios, sports editors Nelson Beltran, Al Mendoza, and Ding Marcelo, and broadcasters Quinito Henson and Andy Jao complete the group.

Barrios, who served as league chief from 2008 to 2010, got unanimously voted as committee chairman.

“There is a lot of pressure because everyone has a favorite, but at the end of the day, we’ll make sure that the 10 of us will set things in order so that the selection process will run smoothly,” said Caidic.

When the PBA marked its 40th anniversary in 2015, the inclusion of 15 players to the original 25 Greatest Players faced criticism following the omission of past stars, most notably Nelson Asaytono.

Asaytono, after all, finished his career ranked fifth in the all-time PBA scoring list, won seven titles and two Best Player of the Conference (BPC) plums, and earned three Mythical First Team and four Mythical Second Team nods.

Other supposed snubs included Abe King, Arnie Tuadles, Bong Hawkins, Olsen Racela, Jeff Cariaso, and Danny Seigle.

Caidic said the selection will be “objective.”

“I think it will come down to the last four and five slots. There are different eras, different angles, different visions. That is where the deliberation will come in, if you can justify whether a player should be there,” said Caidic.

The panel has yet to decide whether MVP winners should be shoo-ins.

Since 2015, only two players have captured the highest individual award in the PBA, with San Miguel big man June Mar Fajardo winning a record eight and Barangay Ginebra guard Scottie Thompson bagging one.

Fajardo has also won 10 championships, four Finals MVPs, and a record 11 BPCs, while Thompson has claimed seven championships, two Finals MVPs, and two BPCs.

“I think we have more than enough time,” said Caidic. – Rappler.com