MALACAñANG appointed former professional basketball player Richard “Dickie” Bachmann as chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), replacing Jose Emmanuel “Noli” Eala who headed the government sports arm for only four months.
Officer in Charge Cheloy Garafil of the Office of the Press Secretary confirmed to BusinessMirror the 54-year-old Bachmann’s appointment on Wednesday afternoon.
“Yes, it’s confirmed,” Garafil said in reply to a text message.
Bachmann became the 12th chairman of the PSC which was established under the Office of the President in 1990.
Also appointed as commissioners of the five-member PSC board were former national fencer Walter Francis Torres and Edward Lim Hayco, former head of the Cebu Sports Commission. They joined bowling great Olivia “Bong” Coo who was named commissioner in July.
Bachmann wasn’t available for comment. He’s on vacation in the US with his family and is expected back on Friday.
Eala, meanwhile, thanked President Marcos a few hours before news of Bachmann’s appointment broke out.
“I wish to thank President Bongbong Marcos for affording me the chance to help Philippine Sports to rise to greater heights,” Eala tweeted. “I serve under the pleasure of the President and I fully respect his decision.”
Eala added: “My brief stint in the PSC gave me an opportunity to once again serve with passion in a field I hold close to my heart … With humility, I can say that I gave dignity and respect to the position of Chairman and worked tirelessly for Philippine Sports.”
Bachmann wasn’t in the radar as either a potential PSC chairman or a replacement for Eala, who was said to have been replaced for being one of dozens of Palace appointees endorsed by former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez.
It was Bachmann’s brother, squash head Robert Bachmann, who was floated as a potential chairman of the sports agency a day after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was declared winner in June of the May elections.
But he didn’t get the appointment although his name again rang a bell early this week, along with that of former De La Salle basketball player Dino Aldeguer.
Richard Bachmann played or served for 26 seasons at Alaska in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)—held key positions in the team as manager and eventually governor in the league’s board before the team disbanded early this year.
Following his appointment, Bachmann has to resign as head of operations of the local organizing committee of the country’s hosting of the 2023 Fiba World Cup and quit as basketball commissioner of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, a post that he’s supposed to hold for three seasons.
Eala, a former PBA commissioner, served the shortest term as chairman of the PSC having been appointed by Malacañang only on August 30.
He anchored his administration at the PSC on serving both elite and grassroots sports.
Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said he felt regret that Eala won’t be able to continue his plans at the PSC, saying that he and Eala have laid the foundations of a better relationship between the two bodies.
“Noli Eala is very cooperative and he looks forward to the betterment of the athletes,” Tolentino said. “So we’re hoping new chairman Dickie Bachmann will do the same and that he’d do the same thing.”
Former Alaska ace Jojo Lastimosa—now with TNT Tropang Giga management and coaching staff—said that Bachmann has “what it takes to lead the PSC and the Filipino athletes.”
“I think Dickie has a lot of experience as both as a player, assistant coach and team manager I worked with him in the basketball operations of Alaska,” said Lastimosa, a teammate of Bachmann from 1993 to 1998. “He’s very good in organization and very good in finances.”
Bachmann was a member of Alaska’s 1996 grand slam team under coach Tim Cone. He also served as playing assistant coach for Alaska in 1998.
“For the many years that I have known Dickie, he’s an upright person,” Lastimosa said. “His moral compass is in the right place, no gray area, only black and white.”
Bachmann is the son of the late basketball great Kurt Bachmann, who was a member of the national team that placed eighth in the 1959 world championships in Chile and 11th in the 1960 Rome Olympics.