Tuason welcomes back Orbos group to MBA

The MBA yesterday accepted the group of Tim Orbos as the league’s seventh member ballclub, leaving one more slot to complete an ideal eight-team cast in this year’s fifth season of the community-based league.

Ramon Tuason, the league’s director for business and marketing, made the announcement after he and concurrent MBA president and chairman Santi Araneta of LBC Batangas met with Orbos at the MBA office in Pasig.

"We are happy to announce that the MBA has approved the return of the (Tim) Orbos’ group to the league," said Tuason.

There were reports, however, that the board has yet to choose among Pangasinan, Baguio, Bulacan and Makati City as the group’s main venue although Tuason promised they will come up with a decision at the end of the month.

Orbos’ group is one of the three ballclubs the Araneta-chaired board accepted in the last two months. The other two are Pampanga, which will be managed by Anton Gonzalez and Lubao Mayor Dennis Pineda, and Olongapo, which will be handled by Tourism Secretary Dick Gordon.

Leading the cast are LBC Batangas, Cebuana Lhuillier, Negros and a TPG-backed team from Mindanao.

At the same time, Araneta is set to meet with Ilocos Norte Gov. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, who is reportedly interested in fielding a team from Laoag.

The teams being considered are Rizal, Pasig and Taguig.