Six ballclubs confirm stint in PBL Open

The Philippine Basketball League holds its season-ending tournament starting Oct. 23 despite the possible exit of regular members Hapee Toothpaste and Blustar Detergents.

Six teams led by former titlists Welcoat Paints and Viva Mineral Water-Far Eastern University have confirmed their participation in the conference dubbed the PBL Open Conference. The others are Lee Pipes-Ateneo, Montana Pawnshop, Toyota Otis-Letran and returnee ICTSI-La Salle.

Blustar Detergents and Hapee Toothpaste have been given by the league until Friday afternoon to make their intentions known. The DSS Productmakers, Inc. franchise disbanded after the season-opening conference early this year while the Lamoiyan-owned squad has reportedly become reluctant in fielding a team.

If Hapee, which has won three titles in eight years of participation in the league, and Blustar, crown-less in six seasons, decide to skip the conference, their players will be put into a dispersal draft Friday.

The PBL will also hold a Rookie Draft Friday with top collegiate players from the UAAP and NCAA in the draft roster.

Meanwhile, General Milling Corp. is now close to finalizing its plan to join the league while Sunkist is thinking on fielding a different squad this conference. The UST Tigers carried the Sunkist banner last conference.

"There are many teams keen on joining the PBL but our target number is eight," said Lachica.