San Miguel, Pure Foods back D-League

MANILA, Philippines - Prominent brands belonging to the San Miguel Pure Foods Company (SMPFC) of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) are the major team sponsors of the Nokia National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) D-League set Dec. 6 at the Jacinto Tiu gym of the Xavier Sports Center.

NBTC D-League director Eric Altamirano made this announcement after Smart Communications of the PLDT Group also sponsored several of the 108 teams in the tournament backed by Nokia Pilipinas and TAO Corp. under the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas headed by Manny Pangilinan and executive director Noli Eala.

B-MEG Feeds, a prominent fixture in last year’s edition, will back teams in Manila, Batangas, Pampanga, Baguio, Cebu, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro, Bicol, Davao and Bacolod.

The name Magnolia will be the team names of Baguio, Iloilo, Davao and Parañaque. Purefoods-Hormel will be the name of some squads in Pampanga and Batangas while San Mig Coffee backs one team belonging to Pasig/Mandaluyong.  

Altamirano thanked SMPFC president Francisco “Butch” Alejo III for recognizing the initiative for the league to become a feeder program for varsity squads and teams catering to leagues such as the UAAP, NCAA, Philippine Basketball League, Philippine Basketball Association and the Liga Pilipinas.

“San Miguel-Purefoods has a deep history in basketball so it’s no surprise that this concept appealed to the company,” said Altamirano. Purefoods is one of three PBA teams, the others being San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra, under the SMC banner.

Featured local teams are Victory Liner (Baguio), Trace College (Laguna’s four teams), Quezon Power Ltd. (four teams in Lucena), Santos Petroleum (Iloilo), DN Steel (Bacolod), Tony Agustin (Bacolod), Daisy Condensada (Cebu), Ave Maria (Cebu), Penshoppe (Cebu), Alturas (Bohol), Energen (Bohol, Pampanga and Davao), Leyte Agri (Ormoc) and JR & R (Ormoc).

Rounding up the list are teams to be named TAOCOM (Zamboanga), Heath Solutions (Zamboanga, Las Pinas/Muntinlupa, Noynoy-Mar (Zamboanga, Dumaguete), Dumaguete Business Park (Dumaguete), Ducomi (Dumaguete), Macro Dist (Dumaguete), General Santos teams’ St. Elizabeth Hospital, Vericide Engineering, East Asia Royale and Buhisan Deep Sea Fishing.

Oro Grande will back two Cagayan de Oro teams, while Iligan squads will be under the names of VFB, BFF, Universal Agrivet and Skaman. There will be North Star and ABC teams for Bicol and an Isotainer team for Quezon City.