PBA bares Season 40 calendar

SEOUL, Korea – Turning 40, the Philippine Basketball Association looks forward to a spectacle of a season spread over 10 months beginning with an explosive double-header pitting expansion teams Kia Motors versus Blackwater and old rivals Barangay Ginebra and Talk n Text at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan on Oct. 19.

The season calendar was the first tackled and approved in the annual planning session of the PBA board of governors at the Novotel Ambassador Gangnam Hotel here.

“It’s an exciting season with the PBA having important projects to celebrate its milestone 40th year,” said board chairman Patrick Gregorio.

Vice chairman Robert Non of San Miguel Beer, San Mig Coffee’s Rene Pardo, Ginebra’s Alfrancis Chua, Meralco’s Al Panlilio and Ryan Gregorio, Globalport’s Erick Arejola, Alaska’s Dickie Bachmann, Barako Bull’s Manny Alvarez, Rain or Shine’s Mert Mondragon, NLEX’s Ramon Fernandez, Kia’s Ginia Domingo and Blackwater’s Dioceldo Sy, Silliman Sy and Wilbert Loa were also here, working together to chart the league’s course for the season.

“The annual media press conference on Oct. 7 at Shangri-La Edsa and the Chairman’s Ball on Oct. 14 at Resorts World Manila usher in the season proper,” Gregorio said.

Coinciding with the premier showing of the PBA documentary “A Nation’s Passion,” the Chairman’s Ball will gather together all PBA officials, players and their wives for an evening of nostalgia.

Five days later, the much-awaited PBA Season 40 finally gets underway, a yearlong celebration highlighted by grand festivities on April 8 where the league honors its 40 greatest players of all time.

The league is sticking with its three-conference format starting with the Philippine Cup followed by two import-laced tourneys.

A new innovation is a handicapping system for imports in the Commissioner’s Cup and in the Governors Cup.

The top eight after the elimination round of the Philippine Cup will be playing with imports with a height limit of 6-foot-9 in the second conference. The bottom four will be allowed imports of unlimited height.

For the Governors Cup, the handicapping will be based on the performances of the teams in the first two conferences. The top eight will play with imports with a height ceiling of 6-foot-5. The bottom four are allowed imports of unlimited height.