As the Philippine Basketball Association awaits the vaccine rollout before plunging back to action, the pro league also decided to put on hold a potential partnership with the East Asia Super League.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial announced this Thursday hours after the league board of governors ended their meeting discussing several issues concerning the partnership with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, identification of next Gilas players, players entering the Rookie Draft, the 3 x 3 tournament and the potential partnership with EASL.
“Nag-meeting ang board of govenors at napagkasunduan, hihintayin natin ang vaccine,” Marcial told media during the question and answer zoom session arranged by the PBA. “So, naka-hold muna 'yung decision to join the East Asia Super League hanggang wala pang vaccine.”
Over the past three years, PBA teams had become a regular participant in the EASL. Blackwater has joined the league twice before, while NLEX, TNT and San Miguel Beer also competed in this tournament in 2019.
EASL, through its chief executive Matt Beyer, made an offer to the PBA and asked Asia’s pioneering pro league to become its regular participant in its tournament during their conference breaks. EASL has planned to put up its first home and away tournament this October by getting the top two teams from different Asian leagues from the Philippines, China, Japan and Korea to join its first season where the champion will get a whopping $1-million cash prize. Each participating squad is also guaranteed of an appearance fee, free travel and accommodation in a world-class hotel and prizes for every won game during the tournament.
While the offer was tempting, the PBA also put premium on health safety.
“Kapag nandiyan na 'yung vaccine, mag-uusap ulit kami. Hindi namin ikino-close 'yung door. Hihintayin lang muna natin 'yung vaccine. Pero as of now, naka-hold 'yung East Asia (para) sa kanilang tournament. Kausap ko kanina si Matt. Tinatanong ko 'yung mga sinasabi ng govenors and sinabi ko na naka-hold muna kasi hinihintay natin 'yung vaccine,” added Marcial.
Beyer understood the situation saying: ‘Basically, we need to work on COVID-19 timeline.”
The EASL released its statement after learning the decision of the PBA.
“Following the conclusion of today’s PBA board meeting, the PBA decided to pause EASL planning discussions until there is more clarity on distribution of vaccine in the country. EASL supports the Philippines’ battle against the virus and looks forward to continuing in good faith discussions with the PBA,” wrote EASL in a statement.
NLEX Road Warriors' general manager Yeng Guiao and Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy were among the two PBA personalities who supported the idea of sending teams to the East Asia Super League because of its competitiveness and the way the league was handled professionally.
“Excellent competition. I felt that from a coaching standpoint, you can only get better when you participate in the East Asia Super League. It was very professionally-managed. Accommodations were world-class. Very nice people, very professional people. There’s a very interesting incentive, the monetary incentive which put the teams looking to play their best,” said Guiao.
“Also, there’s a strong, very passionate Filipino fans in Macau. We felt at home, we felt very comfortable. I’m just really looking forward to going back there again. I don’t know what’s going to take to get back there, but there’s a qualification round, whatsoever. I’m very interested to go with my team,” he added.
According to Guiao, he even made a suggestion to Commissioner Marcial to find ways fitting a competitive tournament such as the East Asia League in its schedule.
“I’ve also suggested to the Commissioner a few days ago that we have to identify tournaments like the East Asia Super League and try and fit them to our schedule,” added Guiao. “That’s really an important factor. If we do the PBA schedule and there’s really no gaps between conferences where we can participate, that’s probably the most difficult obstacle to overcome in participating. But of course, there are 12 teams in the PBA. I feel that the best teams should go and participate. The best teams usually make the finals and the semifinals, therefore, the PBA needs to provide that gap in the schedule where the best teams go there and be appreciated so the fans, especially the Filipinos, can see a really good game.”
Sy agreed with Guiao’s observation.
“I like the way they manage the league. That’s why I’m confident that they will do very well in Asia. Because of the pandemic, it’s taking a lot of time for the PBA to decide regarding its participation,” added Sy.