AFTER being shelved for two years due to the pandemic, the pro league’s developmental cage tournament is set to open shop anew.
Defending two-time NCAA champion Letran and UAAP’s La Salle banner the eight-team field in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup set to kick off next week.
Carrying the colors of Wangs Basketball-Letran, the Knights will be led by reigning NCAA MVP and Gilas Pilipinas member Rhenz Abando and veteran playmaker Fran Yu.
Aside from Wangs Basketball-Letran and EcoOil-La Salle, which will pin its hopes on Michael Phillips, Evan Nelle, and Mark Nonoy, also out to show their worth are NAASCU champion St. Clare College, Builders Warehouse-University of Santo Tomas, Apex Fuel-San Sebastian College, Centro Escolar University, AMA Online Education, and lone club team Marinerong Pilipino.
After holding just eight games and being mothballed since 2020, the season-opening Aspirant’s Cup and the D-League season were called off for good in September two years ago.
The drastically disrupted Aspirant’s Cup was suspended indefinitely in March 2020 at the start of the government-imposed lockdown to stem the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic.
The Aspirant’s Cup is usually used by collegiate league squads to toughen up for their respective leagues such as the UAAP and the NCAA.
The season-ending Foundation Cup features club teams made up mostly of PBA rookie hopefuls and former pros.
PBA deputy commissioner Eric Castro has also sought audience with relevant government offices, meeting with Commission on Higher Education sports development and management unit lead Ana Dulce Yango and Dr. Jesucito M. Garcia of the Games and Amusements Board to ensure an orderly staging of the meet with student-athletes among those seeing action in the tourney.
