Newly-appointed National Basketball League commissioner Matthew "Fritz" Gaston hailed the victory of Belle Corp.-Philippines in the just-concluded third Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Champions Cup in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Gaston said the tieup forged by the Basketball Association of the Philippines with the Metropolitan Basketball Association and the National Basketball League showed what a combination of unity and rapport could produce.
Gaston said he was keenly anticipating the role the NBL would play in basketball in the Philippines, particularly on grassroots development and in its mission to form a permanent national team for intenrational commitments.
"The initial tieup among the BAP, the MBA and the NBL was a resounding success, culminating in the Philippines winning anew the SEABA Champions Cup. The linkage, forged by the BAP, would be mutually beneficial to the MBA and the NBL, with the latter's creation anchored on grassroots basketball development on one hand and on national interest on the other," said Gaston.