Ex-PBA coach Ariel Vanguardia says player exodus should serve as ‘wake-up call’

Former Phoenix and Blackwater head coach Ariel Vanguardia believes that the growing trend of players leaving the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) for bigger contracts overseas should be a wake-up call for the league to start thinking more creatively about its future.

Vanguardia stressed that the PBA must accept the reality that basketball is now a “global sport.” Speaking in Filipino during his guest appearance on former PBA commissioner Noli Eala’s Power and Play sports program last Saturday, he said, “Basketball is global, and I think we can’t stop that because (the question is), do we stop someone from going to the NBA? We can’t, so I think there are more ideas and ways to consider.”

The recent wave of departures prompted the league to release new guidelines last week, stating that players and draftees who leave their mother teams to play internationally or in other local leagues will face a three-year ban.

Among those affected are Ginebra’s Jamie Malonzo, who signed with the Kyoto Hannaryz in Japan’s B.League, and Magnolia’s Will Navarro, who joined the Korean Basketball League’s Busan KCC Egis.

Vanguardia, who coached Phoenix from 2016 to 2017, recalled losing star guard Matthew Wright to the B.League. “Of course, at that time, Matthew Wright was the franchise player, and that hurts. But then, how can you stop someone when he’s probably (gonna be) earning four times what he was earning in the PBA,” he said.

The Philippine Basketball Association may have found a solution to stem the growing trend of players abruptly leaving the league to explore overseas opportunities.https://t.co/AprOFnAq5N

— Daily Guardian (@dailyguardianph) August 7, 2025

He added, “There are many ways to explore and deal with this situation since I’ve been with teams that have low budgets.”

According to Vanguardia, the PBA could take inspiration from Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL), which has managed to retain key local players despite losing some top talents to the NBA and European leagues by increasing the number of foreign imports.

He also proposed that the league consider a “local exemption,” explaining, “one Filipino talent could receive a monthly pay that’s above the maximum monthly salary allowed.”

Currently, veteran PBA players receive a maximum monthly salary of ₱420,000. Vanguardia suggested that adjusting this limit for exceptional local talents could help keep stars in the country.

 “That might help the PBA in the future, like imagine you have a Kai Sotto playing in the PBA. Maybe there’s a PBA team that can afford to pay him that much, and that would be good for the league and can fill up Araneta (Coliseum) for sure,” he said.

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