Makati, San Juan, Pasig, Laguna, and Rosario, Cavite, any of these places, or even all of them, could become part of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League’s (MPBL) expansion next conference.
Representatives from these cities had already signified their intention to join by sending a letter of intent. They’ve also attended the league’s initial meetings, which could make them part of the MPBL beginning next conference in June.
Makati will be handled by Cholo Villanueva.
He served as an assistant coach to Franz Pumaren at GlobalPort in the Philippine Basketball Association and said he plans to build a competitive and fast-paced team. Currently, the team is moving from different barangays to look for players, but just like the other teams already competing in the MPBL’s inaugural staging, the team wants to take advantage of getting five ex-pros to shore up the roster.
San Juan has tapped Francis Rodriguez, its old coach in the Metropolitan Basketball Association, and with former Senator Jinggoy Estrada bankrolling the squad, expect the Knights to relive their glory days.
Presently, several ex-pros who have tried out for a spot include Mac Cardona and EJ Feihl.
Laguna is an interesting participant and it will have the Alonte Sports Complex as its homecourt as soon as it gets on board.
Pasig was among those which showed keen interest in joining the fledgling league, whose participants could move up to 15 come next conference.
Now known as the Rios, representatives from Pasig even gave MPBL founder Manny Pacquiao and Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes a replica jersey.
Rosario was the latest to send a letter of intent and is scheduled to meet MPBL officials.
The MPBL-Anta Rajah Cup just started its playoffs and this early, teams are determined to be part of the growing family of this new regional league. By next year, expect the league to go down south and cater to teams from Visayas and Mindanao.
“We just have to carefully study the logistics and the expenses that will be needed and learn from the mistakes of the past league, MBA, which has a similar format,” said Duremdes.
To recall, The MBA got off to a great start but fell under the financial load of the expenses needed in home-and-away games, flying back and forth from north to south.
As for the MPBL, the league started is off to a good start. Slowly but surely, it will become a national league for every Filipino.
After all, the MPBL is Liga Ng Bawat Pilipino.
Rey Joble has been a sportswriter covering the PBA games for more than a decade. He is a member of the PBA Press Corps and Philippine Sportswriters Association, the oldest journalism group in the country.
reyjoble09@gmail.com
