PBA extends borders

If plans don’t miscarry, Filipino overseas workers will soon get a chance to watch Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) regular season games–not only exhibitions–in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Guam.

PBA commissioner Noli Eala told The Star yesterday he plans to propose to the Board of Governors scheduling 20 out-of-town games, including three abroad, during the First Conference starting Oct. 3. The rest of the out-of-town games will be played in the provinces. The PBA is launching its readjusted fiscal year beginning with the First Conference this coming season.

Factors to consider in arranging the overseas trips include live TV satellite transmission, schedule and expenses.

The First Conference is traditionally the All-Filipino Cup but Eala said it will probably be called the Perlas Ng Silanganan Cup because of the PBA’s 30th or pearl anniversary. Besides, the presence of Fil-foreigners contradicts the concept of a purely All-Filipino tournament.

In the proposed format, the First Conference will feature a double round elimination phase after which the top two teams automatically advance to the semifinals and six others slug it out in the quarterfinals.

Eala said the First Conference will take a break on Dec. 22 for the holidays and resume in the first week of January until the Finals in February. After a 2 1/2 or three-week respite, the Reinforced Conference will begin in March and end in July. Each team will be allowed to recruit an import of unlimited height for the Reinforced Conference.

Meanwhile, the PBA is pulling no stops in making sure the All-Star Week in Cebu next month will be a huge success, coming at the heels of the Fiesta Conference Finals which reestablished the league as a box office hit and a TV high-rater.

"Coverage of the All-Star Week in Cebu will be the best ever," vowed ABC TV marketing executive Winston de la Cruz. "It will be comprehensive and exciting. It will have the viewers see and know more about their favorite superstars. The new season opening in October will be big with a cast of who’s who in the entertainment world. Ratings of future games are projected to surpass the Fiesta Conference which was already high. This is due to ABC surrounding PBA programming with better shows–more sports, including the Tyson-Williams fight on July 31, more entertainment. Top stars of other networks are now in talks to transfer to ABC and there will be more news as ABC builds its credibility and reliability."

Unlike in previous drafts which were held at the start of the year, this season’s edition is scheduled after the Reinforced Conference in July. And to sustain the momentum of activity in the offseason, the PBA is staging a grand homecoming where it intends to fete former players, league and team officials, broadcasters, journalists and even imports in August next year.

In another development, three foreign teams are interested to play PBA teams in exhibitions before the First Conference begins. The SK Knights of South Korea, the Beijing All-Stars and the United States Basketball League (USBL) champion Pennsylvania Valley Dawgs are willing to pay their way to the country for the chance to play PBA teams in September.

A PBA source said if the three teams agree, they will play eight of the 10 PBA clubs in the provinces. Red Bull and Purefoods will not be available for the exhibitions because they are booked to see action in an invitational series in Brunei in September.

Knights team manager J. T. Chang told Los Angeles-based Filipino player agent Mike Gonzalez the other day he will bring in the Korean team, bannered by 6-10 national star Seo Joon Hung, to learn from PBA cagers.

"The team is looking to train overseas and the Philippines isn’t far away," said Gonzalez. "The Knights coaching staff came to scout imports in the PBA twice during the Fiesta Conference. Mr. Chang saw how exciting the game is in the PBA, especially in the Finals. He was surprised how good the Filipino players are. He was impressed with Asi Taulava and Eric Menk."

The Korean league starts in October and ends in May. Teams are allowed to recruit two imports with a combined height of 13 feet and five inches. The Knights are negotiating to sign up Torraye Braggs and Derrick Brown or Julius Nwosu as imports.

The Valley Dawgs are coached by legendary dunk artist Darryl (Chocolate Thunder) Dawkins. Two Filipinos, Vince Hizon and Bong Alvarez, played for the USBL team this past season. The Valley Dawgs’ team manager and director of player personnel is Sam Unera, a Filipino who lives in Pennsylvania.