Gregorio explains ‘vision of progress’

MANILA, Philippines - PBA chairman Patrick Gregorio said recently his vision of progress will lead the pro league into the future with the promise of opening up opportunities in Asia and beyond as the world takes notice of how basketball is loved in the country.

“It’s our 40th anniversary,” said Gregorio. “We owe it to the PBA’s millions of fans and the team owners to set a direction for the future. The world is getting smaller and we should take advantage of the opportunities that the Gilas program has given us. Now, everybody knows about basketball in the Philippines. Coaches from Argentina, Croatia and Greece were introduced to how we play and love the game at the FIBA World Cup in Spain. This is our chance to export the PBA but in a way where we invite foreign interest to our country. The time has come for us to take baby steps in this direction and our first experiment in Asian integration will come in the Governors Cup.”

Gregorio said the idea of inviting Asian imports on an optional basis to play in the third conference will be “good for business.” The proposal is to allow each PBA team to recruit an Asian import with a height ceiling of 6-4. Naturalized players are not included. This will be in addition to the plan of permitting the top eight finishers, based on records of the first two conferences, to bring in an import with a height limit of 6-5 and the bottom four with no ceiling.

“We will reach out to the team owners to explain this concept,” said Gregorio. “The plan is to make a trial run to test the waters. Because of Asian integration, there are so many business opportunities and linkages to look into. We will, of course, calibrate the entry of Asian imports, one per team with specific restrictions like a 6-4 height limit. They would be classified as Asian reinforcements and teams will not be required to do it. This will be optional.”

With Asian imports, Gregorio said he expects to court a new market for the PBA. “Take, for instance, Blackwater Elite which does a lot of business in Indonesia,” he said. “I think Blackwater might sign up an Indonesian import. Kia Motors will probably recruit a Korean import. This will generate interest from foreign partners and the foreign community in the Philippines. Imagine if we are able to tap the large Korean, Iranian, Chinese and Japanese communities in the country. The goal is to grow our business and if this integration proves successful, we see no reason why the value of a PBA franchise won’t double in a few years. Asian integration is alive but in the PBA context, we will push it slowly. Another repercussion is with more Asian presence, we can expect ESPN and Fox Sports to become increasingly interested in covering the PBA.”

Gregorio said he hopes to add two more franchises to the PBA fold for the 2015-16 season. “We are studying options to bring in two more franchises to start the 41st season in October 2015,” he said. “We are probably approaching the threshold of an ideal maximum. The way we see it, we’ll likely keep the membership to 14 teams for the next seven years. So my suggestion is if there are parties interested to join, they should express interest now to be included for the 2015-16 season. If they hesitate, the wait could be another seven years.”

While Gregorio set a limit of 14 teams, there is talk that the league may consider to expand to 16 teams by the 2016-17 season if interest is strong from big business backers. Gregorio said the issue of expansion is a topic that will continue to be discussed in the course of the season.

Regarding the PBA’s involvement in the Gilas program, Gregorio reiterated the pro league’s support. “We are aware of the FIBA Asia Championships that will be held in China next year, possibly in August,” he said. “This will probably be after the Governors Cup. Obviously, we won’t want to dramatically disrupt the PBA’s schedule. The FIBA Asia Championships will be the qualifying tournament for the 2016 Olympics so it’s important for Gilas to get ready early.”

The format for the Governors Cup was a subject of much discussion at the recent PBA planning session in Seoul. One proposal was to disallow the top six teams from recruiting an import and allow the bottom six to hire an import with a height limit of 6-4. Gregorio, however, proposed a “twist” in the format and pushed for Asian integration, justifying it as a business model for growth.

Gregorio said during his term, he will bring the PBA closer to the barangay level. “We’ll reach out to Filipino fans down to the barangay or grassroots level, where our PBA players come from,” he said. “We want all PBA players, regardless of status, to go back to their home province, their barangay, and conduct clinics. Whether you’re a starter or a role player in the PBA, you’re a superstar in your barangay. We’re thinking of tying up with Molten and perhaps, a TV company so that when the players go home, they can give away basketballs and TV sets as donations to their barangay. Why TV sets? Because we want to expand the audience for our games by making available sets for general viewing. Fil-foreigners can do it in Metro Manila. But we want all our players to be involved in this outreach program.”