Saying that the current board of governors are not in a position to commit to the project one way or another, former PBA chair Ricky Vargas said the logical way is to let the owners decide the coliseum issue.

Vargas, who represented Talk ‘N Text in the board, said commissioner Chito Salud “embraced the idea” and agreed to his suggestion to call an owners meeting, possibly in the third week of January.

Vargas added that PLDT-Smart chair Manny Pangilinan, who owns the Talk N’ Text and Meralco teams, wanted to know “who’s in and who’s out” on the coliseum project and it was therefore necessary to get the team owners together.

San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang, Alaska team owner Fred Uytengsu, Rain or Shine co-owners Terry Que and Raymund Yu and Barako Bull’s George Chua had already agreed to the meeting, Vargas revealed.

He also stressed that he had no intentions of offending the current members of the board, noting that when he was the PBA chair, he himself couldn’t really commit on a major undertaking that would cost a huge amount.

Meanwhile, Vargas said he had also discussed in a recent board meeting the formation of the Smart Gilas national team for tournaments in 2011 leading to the Fiba Asia Men’s Championship which is the qualifying tournament for the 2012 London Olympics.

Among the options being studied is the formation of a hybrid team with the core of Smart Gilas reinforced by some PBA players.

Vargas said Talk N’ Text “is willing to sacrifice” by allowing its key players to join the national five, whose campaign will be bankrolled by the SBP headed by Pangilinan.

Ronnie Nathanielsz, Phil. Daily Inquirer