Entry fees safe and untouched, PBA D-League assures teams

MANILA, Philippines – There’s nothing to worry for the PBA D-League squads with regards to their participation fees despite the indefinite return date of the shelved 2020 Aspirants’ Cup.

PBA deputy commissioner and operations manager Eric Castro assured this recently, saying that their entry fees have been treated like a “deposit” and will remain untouched until the resumption of the games.

“There were already initial talks and we have discussed it with the PBA board. All teams will just have to continue their participation once we restart the D-League. It’s like a deposit for the meantime,” he said in this week’s PSA Forum.

Participation fee is the main requirement for any squad wishing to join the D-League, which has been parading two conferences each season.

The number of squads changes on a conference and season basis. Most teams are school-based squads, which usually join PBA’s developmental ranks as a major build-up for their respective collegiate leagues.

For the first conference this year that has been suspended since last March, there are 12 teams participating with Marinerong Pilipino being the only club squad.

School-based teams participating in the Aspirants’ Cup are Builders Warehouse-UST, EcoOil-DLSU, Apex Mindanao-San Sebastian, SeaOil-FEU, Mapua, Diliman College, Family Mart-Enderun, TIP, Wangs Basketball-Letran, AMA Online Senior High and Karate Kid-CEU.

Like the PBA, D-League’s resumption is still up in the air depending on the decision of government and health authorities as well as the return of collegiate leagues like the UAAP and the NCAA.