Nine teams will join this tournament, a preparatory for an eventual merger, with three coming from the PBL (Ascof Lagundi, Cobra Energy Drink and Ani-FCA) and six Liga squads (Cebu, Misamis Oriental, Laguna, Taguig, Mandaue and General Santos City).
Debuting in the first leg, since this cagefest will use the traditional Liga format that gives corresponding points based on performance for each leg, are host Ani-FCA, Ascof Lagundi, Cebu and Laguna.
Officials from both leagues expressed optimism with the partnership which they hoped for a full-blown merger come the next conference around October.
But is it going to be a match made in heaven?
This tournament will play a factor in whether an merger would occur. There are a number of issues that both leagues will face such as costs (which PBL teams need to adjust), logistics and personalities involved.
The longevity of the participating squads is also a concern. PBL teams deal with the way their respective companies perform in the economy. They usually lose money on advertising expense to run a basketball team as a way to promote their product.
On the other hand, Liga squads (except for the likes of Cebu) survive on support of the City government. Certain public officials give their thumbs up on fielding teams in also a way not only as part of their local government's sports program but also promote themselves as a good public service person (yeah, that's the harsh reality of it).
So a mix of commercial and provincial teams plus officials of both leagues in one tournament. It's makes the TOP interesting to observe as they hold their first leg. It's either going to be a PBL or Liga-dominated flavor but the idea of later seeing the fancied Cebu Ninos, with an immaculate 21-0 record, against a Cobra team, perhaps with some former UE players and Jai Reyes on its fold, or Ascof with PBL MVP Vic Manuel leading the pack.
Let's see how this PBL-Liga tourney goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment