TEN more players will be added to the list of the PBA’s Greatest List that will bring the number to 50 in time for the celebration of the league’s 50th Anniversary in April this year.

Three former Most Valuable Players will lead the selection panel which will also include individuals familiar with the growth of the league over the past decades.

Four-time MVP Ramon Fernandez joins fellow MVP awardees Atoy Co and Allan Caidic to the 10-man committee that will deliberate the qualifications of the candidates who will eventually join an elite list that will last for posterity.

The list currenty stands at 40 after the PBA added 15 to the original 25 Greatest which the PBA named during its 25th anniversary in 2000. Fernandez, Co, and Caidic were part of the first batch.

Apart from the three PBA legends, also in the selection panel are five-time champion coach Dante Silverio, former PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios, broadcasters Quinito Henson and Andy Jao, SPIN.ph editor and former Manila Bulletin sports editor Ding Marcelo, former Philippine Daily Inquirer sports editor Al mendoza, and Nelson Beltran, current sports editor of The Philippine Star and president of the Philippine Sportswriters Association.

Photo by: Sherwin Vardeleon

Commissioner Willie Marcial made the announcement on the composition of the panel, which convenes for the first time on Feb. 6.

“Nagbuo na tayo ng committee para sa pagpili ng additional 10 para sa 50 Greatest Players,” he said.

Marcial, who’s been involved in the league since 1984, begged off from becoming part of the panel and instead, will help facilitate the selection along with other PBA officials led by deputy commissioner Eric Castro.

Bakit nagkaganito ang laro ng Ginebra?

Aware of some criticism that marred the selection of the second batch, Marcial will ask the committee to be more thorough about the process to avoid any protest that may arise from failure to name deserving players.

“Isa-suggest ko na baka puwede nating simulan from 1975 to 1995 or 1990,” said Marcial, aware of the controversy during the selection of the 15 additional names to the 25 Greatest List.

Many observers noted that several players they thought who were more deserving were left out of the list.

Also, Marcial will recommend the outright addition of San Miguel star June Mar Fajardo to the list. He believes Fajardo’s eight MVP awards make the 6-foot-8 center an outright entry and would not want to wait perhaps another decade for his retirement to be included.

“Isa-suggest ko na rin na si June Mar pasok na (50 Greatest Players). Pero depende pa rin yan sa committee. Magpa-facilitate lang naman yung PBA,” added Marcial.