PBA urged to take EASL stint more seriously

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines, represented by the PBA, could very well contend and even reign supreme in the East Asia Super League – if and only if it takes the tournament seriously.

With South Korea and Japan now taking turns ruling the upstart league in the Pacific, pressure is on the hoops-mad country to follow through after subpar performances in its first two participations.

And the PBA has all the tools to achieve it, as far as the EASL and Australia national team coach Brian Goorjian are concerned.

“There is no doubt in my mind while watching the EASL games that the Philippine teams could win. PBA teams can come here and win. It’s just in the beginning stages and how much attention and how much you put into it,” said Goorjian, who had first-hand experience with the PBA after steering guest team Bay Area Dragons in the Commissioner’s Cup finals last year.

“If the PBA, like Ginebra or San Miguel who just won, if those guys show up, I guarantee you, I’m not going to say that they are going to win but they have no problem competing,” added EASL CEO Henry Kerins.

Korea’s Anyang won the EASL Champions Week last year in Japan followed by Japan’s Chiba this year with an eight-game sweep highlighted by a 72-69 win over Korea’s Seoul in Cebu. PBA teams did not even make it to the playoffs.

Apart from the injuries of key players, one of the glaring factors in the PBA teams’ EASL struggle so far is the ‘import’ aspect with only one import rule, compared to the Japan B. League and Korean Basketball League fielding multiple imports in their domestic competitions.

That has taken a toll on the PBA representatives, who just signs up an additional import for EASL tournaments with little to no preparation. Japan and Korean ball clubs, for their part, are already playing deep with their respective reinforcements all season long prior to the EASL.

“You are allowed two imports. These teams (from Korea, Japan and Chinese Taipei) play their domestic competition with two imports. The Philippines plays with one. That’s big. That’s a huge difference,” added Goorjian.

The ball is on the PBA on how to adjust to the different style overseas but EASL is leaving no stone unturned to make it work, given also the varied schedule of the PBA with three conferences compared to the single seasons of Japan and Korea.

“It’s something that I’m really trying to work on in terms of understanding how to make it fairer. There is an ongoing dialogue around that. There is an ongoing dialogue with all the leagues,” cleared Kerins as the EASL looks for a 16-team expansion starting in 2025.

The PBA, Japan B. League, Korean Basketball League and P.League+ of Chinese Taipei served as pioneer leagues with two teams each in the first two EASL Seasons so far. Leagues across Asia, including the Chinese Basketball Association, are expected to follow suit.

The PBA has fielded San Miguel and Talk ‘N Text in the EASL Champions Week en route to early exits. It’s the same this season in the league’s first home-and-away format as Meralco and TNT got early boots.

Meralco was actually a replacement to Barangay Ginebra — then Commissioner’s Cup champion after beating Goorjian and the Dragons in Game 7 with a record crowd of 54,589 fans before backing out due to personnel and schedule issues after making the core of gold-medalist Gilas Pilipinas in the Asian Games – which the EASL looks to have on board for the first time soon.

“Ginebra is the most mature franchise and the biggest following, we all know that. And obviously, we would love to have them. It will be an honor to have them,” added Kerins on the squad mentored by the PBA’s winningest coach and Gilas Pilipinas tactician Tim Cone.

The bottomline is the PBA has to want it — and when it does — the EASL title is just there for the taking by Asia’s first professional league.

And Goorjian sees that happening sooner than later, especially after seeing its rivals from Korea and Japan take it at their expense.

“The Philippine local players can play with anybody. It’s just the blend of the imports and how seriously do you take this. And I think when the Philippines comes in here and says ‘We want to win this, and we are going to take it seriously,’ and I think that is coming,” said Goorjian.

“I think the Philippines is gonna take it more seriously, and when they do, they are going to be in the top four doing some damage. I really think that.”