Dr. Michael “Mikee” Romero, a proven winner in both sports and business, was voted chairman of the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) by acclamation during the Board of Governors’ meeting recently at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Manila.
Acknowledged as the amateur basketball “godfather” after bankrolling the successful campaign of the Philippine team in the 2007 Southeast Asian Basketball Association that eventually paved the way for the country’s return to international competition, Romero, 37, succeeded Dr. Cecilio Pedro, a long-time league patron and also a known pillar in the business industry.
Pedro, one of the architects behind the league’s huge success last season where fans from North to South embraced the league like never before, completed his one-year term of office with flying colors.
“I’m deeply honored with the trust and confidence bestowed by my fellow owners and their representatives for making me the new chairman of the league,” said Romero, who vowed to make the league truly developmental in nature and a haven for rising stars.
The chief executive officer of the country’s fastest-growing non-containerized port terminal – Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI) and its parent company, Harbour Centre Port Holdings – said his main thrust is to further strengthen the league and produce more quality players whom he dubbed as the ‘Generation X’.
With the exit of several marquee players, including his main man Jason Castro and league top drawer Gabe Norwood of Hapee Toothpaste, Romero plans to hold training camps in Davao, Cebu and Manila to draw more interest and inspire young players to take the sport seriously.
“Basketball can help define their future and we are here to help them achieve their dreams,” Romero, the 2007 Management Man of the Year winner, said.
“With the new chairman, there will be better ideas to further enhance and improve the image of the league. We’ll join hands to support him all the way,” said Pedro.
Ding Camua of Pharex was named vice chairman while Lito Alvarez of BurgerKing was designated as treasurer.
Early this year, Romero, who is also chairman and president of various corporations such as Pacifica, Inc., Mikro-Tech Capital Inc. and 168 Ferrum Pacific Mining Corp., was also presented the De La Salle Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports by the De La Salle Alumni Association and Young Leaders Award by Philippine Graphics Magazine.