THE PBA Board of Governors hit the ground running last Saturday in its annual planning session in Osaka, Japan for the league’s 49th season leading up to its golden anniversary.
Pro league chief Willie Marcial and the members of management committee, chairman Ricky Vargas and the rest of the board members have confirmed their attendance in the gab.
Also attending the meeting are top officials from the league’s broadcast partners–Cignal TV and MediaQuest CEO Jane Basas, TV5 president and CEO Guido Zaballero and Cignal TV EVP Sienna Olaso.
Joining the PBA contingent were vice chairman Bobby Rosales of Terrafirma, treasurer Raymond Zorrilla of Phoenix, NorthPort’s Erick Arejola, Archen Cayabyab of Converge, Ginebra’s Alfrancis Chua, Ronald Dulatre of NLEX, Rain or Shine’s Atty. Mamerto Mondragon, Robert Non of San Miguel Beer, Meralco’s Atty. William Pamintuan, Rene Pardo of Magnolia and Blackwater’s Silliman Sy.
“We’re optimistic of a good year ahead and hopeful we can come up with plans and programs that can make the PBA more exciting and interesting for basketball fans.
Kumpleto kami,” Marcial said.
The Governors’ Cup will kick off Asia’s pioneering cage pro league on Aug. 18 to be followed by the Commissioner’s Cup and will wind up with the prestigious Philippine Cup, just in time for the PBA’s 50th year in April 2025.
The season-opening tilt will also feature the return of the old two-group format that was last held in the import-less joust in 2014.
Under the new setup, each squad plays each member of its group twice with the top four teams in the groups advancing to a best-of-5 crossover quarterfinal.
The groups’ top seeds clash with the other group’s lowest seeds while the No. 2 battles the other No. 3 seeds also in a race-to-3 series.
The semifinals and Big Dance will be a best-of-7 duels.
“Tingin kasi namin mas gusto ng fans ang playoff matches,” Marcial said. “Susubukan natin sa first conference, and we’ll see.”
A foreign guest team–Hong Kong Eastern–is also being eyed to see action in the mid-season tourney that will likely adopt a single import of unlimited height.
With the league working doubly hard, a banner year could be just in the offing.