MIKEE Romero, who owns the Philippine Basketball League champion team Harbour Centre, is expected to eventually take over as chairman of Burger King (currently Air21) in the import-reinforced second conference.

Standard Today, www.insidesports.ph and Viva Sports learned that Bert Lina, who now owns 60 percent of Air21, along with team manager Lito Alvarez, who has a much smaller investment, would eventually become a minority shareholder, with the majority being controled by Romero and PLDT-Smart owner Manuel V. Pangilinan, who earlier clarified that his investment was personal similar to that of former Philippine Basketball Association chairman Ricky Vargas.

Pangilinan, who initially responded to a request from Lina as a friend to invest in Burger King, told Standard Today during the Christmas season from Hong Kong that he had a 10-percent share and Vargas had 3.5 percent, but it was not a PLDT-Smart buy in, but an investment in their private capacities.

Standard Today learned that the shares of Pangilinan and Vargas will be substantially increased, along with that of Romero, who will assume a lead role in the Burger King team and is likely to be named board representative.

But since under the rotation of PBA chairmanships, Alvarez will assume the position in the 2009-2010 season, there are ongoing discussions to retain him as representative and Romero as alternate board representative. Ronnie Nathanielsz