(CNN Philippines) — Ever wondered who is responsible for bringing in former National Basketball Association (NBA) players as imports to our local professional league?
Think no more — her name is Sheryl Reyes, the only female player agent in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) who has thrived in providing PBA teams the reinforcements they need for the league’s import-laced conferences.
Casual sport fans think they know the nitty-gritty of an agent’s job – to secure contracts for his/her players – but there are far more things that go into every transaction.
Sheryl shares her journey as a female player agent, the process behind recruiting imports, and how she became good at what she does.
The process
The first thing Sheryl does is to study each and every PBA ballclub – identifying their needs and the areas where they lack.
Months before the import-laden conferences start, Sheryl flies out to scout talent in different countries, specifically targeting summer leagues in the United States, to broaden her roster of players which she can present to each PBA team.
After she does her thorough research, she comes up with a list of players who she believes would be a near perfect fit for a particular squad. Sheryl Reyes Quote 1
“I make a presentation for each team of the imports who I can think babagay sa kanila. Sometimes I give a few coaches a USB device that contains profiles of players and several videos,” said Sheryl.
One factor that plays a crucial role in the hiring process is the availability of the player since most of the imports she handles play in other leagues overseas.
“Basta I show them 7-10 options and give them at least one week to decide who to get,” she added. “But I just don’t give names… I give my own recommendations.”
Making a name for herself
Growing up Sheryl had no basketball background of any kind. She never thought she’d become a player agent. And similar to most teenage girls, the only thing linking her to the game was a certain crush on a PBA player.
“It was never my idea, because I really wanted to be a lawyer. Ang layo ‘no? I’m a Political Science graduate sa CEU. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to be a basketball player agent,” she shared.
“Although I did have a basketball crush, Jason Webb. That’s the only thing I knew about basketball – Jason Webb.”
Entering the world of basketball never crossed Sheryl’s mind, so she decided to become a modelling agent.
“I was a model agent before. I was managing foreign models – Brazilians, Americans. Then I started managing sina Borgy Manotoc and Brent Javier. I was flying them out to other countries to model,” said Sheryl.
But she made the sudden shift to the sporting world when Asi Taulava, who at the time was in her stable, asked for a particular import from her.
“At first I thought that I just did my job for Asi, because he was the one who requested for the import. But the next year when I had four imports, that’s the time I knew that I was going to shift,” said Sheryl. “Because it was easier for me to bring in imports.”
Sheryl admits that, in the beginning when she was just starting out in the business, she had a difficult time fitting in in the basketball community.
Most coaches would question her endorsements. But now that’s she has established herself as the go-to person for PBA imports, things changed tremendously.
“At first, I don’t think they believed me. I had to prove to them that I was serious about my craft.
“It changed when they started noticing that I was closing about 4 or 5 deals every conference. People started calling me. In the beginning, they didn’t think I was capable. They didn’t respect me,” said Sheryl.
“It has been different for the past years because now they ask me. All of a sudden, may say na ‘ko. Now, they really do listen to me. Nagiiba na yung mentality, maybe because of the type of imports that I’ve been bringing in through the years.”
Acting as the guidance counselor
Sheryl’s job doesn’t end when she brings the imports to the Philippines. There are other meticulous duties she has to address – like making sure if the players’ relationship with their respective teams are in good shape.
“[People] don’t see the huge responsibility of bringing in these imports. It’s really hard,” said Sheryl.
“I don’t stop in just bringing them in, I have to make sure if they’re okay, if their relationship with their teams are okay, because it’s a different culture. It’s a long process. When teams panic, I have to act like their guidance counselor because I have to assure them.”
All the imports she offers are under the microscope, because everybody expects them to be good as advertised.
It’s all fun when her players deliver the goods, until reports about replacing them surface online or in the newspapers.
“Usually what I do is when I read something like that I call the team first and make sure if it’s true or not. If not, I talk to the team. If it’s confirmed, however, that’s the time I talk to the import,” said Sheryl.
“The hard part is that the one who also replaces them is me. I really prepare their minds already if it’s true. It’s hard because I’m the one who hired them and I don’t want to be the same person to fire them. That’s why I always tell my imports that they have to play their best, because I don’t want to be the one firing them.”
But Sheryl revealed that teams don’t necessarily “let go” of an import because the player lacks talent. She says that the PBA conferences are so short that when teams lose one or two straight games, they tend to panic and look for immediate replacements.
“Hindi naman nila fina-fire yung import kasi tingin nila hindi magaling eh. Sometimes they fire imports because our conferences are very short that when teams lose one games or two they panic and want to change imports quickly.”
Connecting with Marbury, Iverson
One of Sheryl’s many accomplishments in her career is bringing former NBA superstars Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson to Manila.
Sheryl got in contact with Marbury in the hope of bringing his shoe line to the Philippines. After initial talks broke down, Marbury communicated again with Sheryl upon learning that she has connections in China. Sheryl Reyes Quote 2
“Steph got in contact with me. Because it’s not easy to get access to China unless you have an agent,” said Sheryl, who has flew in the former Coney Island standout numerous times.
During his visits, Sheryl staged charitable events and basketball exhibition games as her way, and Marbury’s as well, of giving back to the community.
As for the case with Iverson, Sheryl shared that it was his camp that contacted her about collaborating.
“It all started when I handled this activity in Indonesia, I was one of the agents who provided the street ballers. [Iverson’s people] found out that I was representing Stephon in China and they contacted me,” said Sheryl, who after three years of negotiations convinced Iverson to come to Manila.
Even after all the imports she has signed and the former NBA players she has brought to the country, Sheryl still can’t grasp how blessed she is with her job – even if there were times that she felt like quitting.
“When I first started people didn’t give me that respect – and I had to learn the hard way. It took a while before I became who I am today. The reason I am the person who I am today is because of the people who tried to pull me down,” said Sheryl.
“It’s been very miraculous. Even until now, I get surprised with the people I deal with. And with everything that has happened, it makes me feel that I’m doing something right.”
