PBA discusses key issues in Milan

MANILA, Philippines — Milan is the destination of the 12 PBA Governors and key management officers who leave Manila tonight for the Italian city where critical issues will be discussed in the traditional overseas planning session and Board meeting to signal the start of the new season.

The PBA delegation will travel via Dubai enroute to Milan where a whole-day Board meeting is scheduled on Thursday. It will be the second PBA Board meeting in Europe after Spain during the FIBA World Cup in 2014. PBA commissioner Willie Marcial heads the management group that will report on last season’s performance, brief the Board on plans for the coming 45th season, seek approval for the mechanics of the 3x3 draft and tournament, discuss schedule options in light of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifying windows and take up other critical issues that require careful study.

Last season was unique because it extended beyond the calendar year and the draft was held before the third conference ended to make time for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in February, the FIBA World Cup on Aug. 31-Sept. 15 and the Southeast Asian Games last month. The Governors Cup finals took place only this month and finished with huge numbers in livestream viewership, TV audience and live attendance.

Marcial said the slam-bang climax in the Governors Cup was a positive sign heading into the next campaign. “The third conference was a big hit,” he said. “The triple overtime playoff game between NorthPort and NLEX pulled in about 1.5 million livestream viewers. In the finals, the viewership was even stronger. Whatever setbacks we had because of the staggered conferences were made up by the Governors Cup’s performance.”

Marcial said last season also marked a significant breakthrough in marketing with new sponsorship contracts signed at least every month, sometimes every two weeks. In reaching out to fans outside Metro Manila, the league played two games in Dubai and 12 provincial hosts staged contests – Bocaue, Calasiao, Digos, Cagayan de Oro, Panabo, Angeles City, Batangas City, Zamboanga City, Sta. Rosa, Lapu Lapu City, Davao City and Lucena. This season, the PBA plans to play games in 15 provincial venues. In the coming first conference, the provincial hosts will be Balanga, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Dipolog and Panabo. Bataan hasn’t hosted since a TNT-Alaska game in 2005 while Dipolog last staged a PBA game in 2015 with Ginebra and Blackwater.

Marcial said there’s a chance that a foreign country will host the PBA during the season. “We were invited to play in the US last October but there were visa issues,” he said. “Riyadh and Jeddah are making inquiries and Dubai wants us back. Everything is still in the preliminary stage. Nothing is final.”

Marcial said he will brief the Board on possible rule changes. Five were initially proposed by the technical group but the list was dropped to three after thorough review. One rule change involves substitutions during a 30-second timeout. “We’ll also look at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifying schedule,” he said. “The first window in February will be before the season opens but the second window in November will run smack into our calendar.”   

The 3x3 draft and tournament will be in the agenda. “We’ll discuss who can be drafted and if it will be an open-door policy, meaning those who didn’t apply for the last PBA draft or those who applied for the D-League draft may join,” said Marcial. “We’ll decide if age requirements will be the same as the PBA draft, if 3x3 players may be elevated to the PBA and when. For sure, we will do the 3x3 draft and tournament. The plan is to start in the last week of March or after the Holy Week in April. We will do a 3x3 tournament for each conference.”

Marcial said at the moment, the league has no immediate plans to expand. “Each 3x3 team will enlist six players and in a conference where there are imports, each team can line up 15 locals plus an import so we’re giving more opportunities for players,” he said. “We realize every year, there are rookies coming in but with the 3x3 and the extension of lineups, we’re creating more jobs for players.”

Marcial said the recent spate of trades is a healthy sign. “Every team is beefing up,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot of player movements. It’s exciting. All the teams want to move forward.” Regarding suspended Phoenix forward Calvin Abueva, Marcial said there is no timetable for his reactivation. “We’re communicating,” he said. “He’s doing his part in proving himself but there are still some more things he has to do.”