PBL: Another vibrant season in the offing

Riding on the wave of its successful Platinum Cup finals series, the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) opens its 2004-05 season with the staging of the second Unity Cup starting on Sunday with Hapee Toothpaste out to extend its reign as the country’s premier amateur club.

Though the league lost some of its marquee players, among them Rich Alvarez, James Yap and Peter June Simon, to the pro league last month, the season-opening tournament will remain as vibrant and exciting as the last conference, according to commissioner Chino Trinidad.

"We lost some of the league’s star players but I’m confident we will discover new talents. There are plenty of players out there waiting for proper breaks and are ready to shine," said Trinidad. "That’s why I’m looking forward to another successful conference,"

Trinidad, along with chairman Dioceldo Sy of Blustar Detergent, Studio 23 top honchos Leo Katigbak and team managers, coaches and players of all eight participating ballclubs, graced yesterday’s launching at the 13th floor of the ELJ Building in Quezon City.

"It’s another year for the PBL and we’re optimistic of another successful season especially now that we have a new partner in Studio 23," Trinidad.

"The league has improved a lot through the years and we know we’ll have a good partnership with a television giant like ABS-CBN," Sy said.

Katigbak, the station’s managing director, vowed to make Studio 23’s PBL coverage a success in the next three seasons. The PBL games will be shown every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

"Our main concern right now is to bring to the excitement of watching PBL games," he added.

Unlike the Platinum Cup, the coming conference is going to be a close call since most of the teams, including defending champion Hapee and arch-rival Welcoat Paints, have undergone major facelifts, giving other teams like Viva Mineral Water-Far Eastern University, Blustar Detergent, Sunkist-UST and Montana Pawnshop a reason to celebrate this early.

Prior to the opening of the Platinum Cup, Welcoat and Hapee (formerly Fash Liquid Laundry Detergent) were touted to meet in the finals considering they have in their respective folds some of the league’s finest players.

And they did, but luck was on Hapee’s side as it clinched the title to make the 2003-2004 season a truly magical year for the Lamoiyan franchise. The Teeth Sparklers also won the inaugural Unity Cup at the expense of Viva-FEU.

But the recent developments sit well for some teams, especially for Viva-FEU, Montana, Sunkist-UST and Blustar who are all out to dismantle the dominance of Hapee and Welcoat in the league.

But it won’t be easy. — Joey Villar