The Philippine Basketball Association wants to have the Meralco and San Miguel Beer teams in a featured battle at the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum as the pro league gears up for its 50th anniversary in 2025.
Speaking before reporters at the Philippine Sportswriters Association sports forum on Tuesday, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said the league is looking at the decades-old Rizal Coliseum as one of the league’s playing venues.
“We have talked with the former PSC chairman Noli (Eala) and now PSC chair Dickie (Bachmann) for the PBA to hold games at their venues. At Rizal, we want to relive the Meralco-San Miguel rivalry in the old MICAA,” said Marcial.
The PBA chief was referring to the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association, which was the premier pro tournament in the 1960s up to the early 1970s, before nine of its members joined forces to form the PBA in 1975.
San Miguel was then known as San Miguel Brewery, while Meralco was called Meralco Reddy Kilowatts.
Former Ginebra playing coach Sonny Jaworski played briefly with Meralco before joining Toyota.
Meralco lasted only four years from 1968 up to 1972 in the MICAA, while San Miguel was among the founding teams in the PBA, carrying the Royal True Orange uniform.
“Magandang paglabanin ‘yang dalawang teams na ‘yan ‘pag naglaro ang PBA sa Rizal (Coliseum) at dapat ang uniform nila ung old design ng jersey na ginamit dati,” added Marcial, who will make the event as part of the teaser and countdown event going to the 50th year celebration of Asia’s first professional basketball League.
Marcial said he has been talking with collectors’ groups to display their old PBA memorabilia. He is also preparing to form the group that will determine the 10 more PBA players, active or retired, to complete the greatest 50 PBA players, in time for the celebration in 2025.
“’Yung selection panel pa lang ang hirap nang buuin e. Pero masaya ito, sobra. Pinaghahandaan namin ito para sa mga fans,” he said.