This Friday marks the opening of the National Basketball Conference third season, with Tagaytay hosting the northern opening ceremonies. At leats ten of thr twelve teams have already confirmed their line-ups and participation as of this writing.
Despite the constant challenges of travel and other logistical requirements, NBC secretary-general Tito Palma has been able to keep the league afloat. This he attributes to interested businessmen like NBC head and Spring Cooking Oil boss Tac Padilla, as well as local governments that want to promote their areas and provide livelihood for their citizens.
"The nice thing about the NBC is that we started small, and we’re trying to avoid hurting ourselves by growing too fast," Palma said, alluding to the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association, which had a similar regional concept. "It’s been a struggle, but we have a lot of friends who help."
The NBC started three years ago under the umbrella of the Basketball Association of the Philippines, but struck out on its own when the BAP allegedly wanted the league’s original name back, realizing it could be profitable. Palma knew that many local governments and businessmen wanted the opportunity to have their own basketball teams.
The league’s rules are designed to promote the development of regional players. Teams budget a maximum of P300,000 a month for their teams for the duration of the season. Each team has a maximum of eighteen players, with ten coming from their localities and eight "imports", mostly more experienced players from Metro Manila. The maxmium salary per player is roughly P 18,000. Home teams can field their entire line-up, while visiting teams can play fifteen. The season is divided into two tournaments running three and a half months each.
"We really want to bring in the fans by showcasing their own players," Palma explains. "Even if they have many players playing only a few minutes, they’re still getting experience, and the home crowd is happy. Eventually, we will lessen the number of imports and let the local players take full control of their team."
After a failed partnership with a television production company, Palma has sought out cable networks and friendly media outlets to help keep the league’s awareness high. He has existing barters with transport companies and hotels in certain provinces to keep travel costs low. But there’s still a lot of work to be done.
"We’re a very small team with realistically big dreams," Palma adds. "Once the season starts, we’re really spread out. Almost all our southern teams are deep in Mindanao, so we’re always moving. But we really enjoy what we do."
And everyone loves a dreamer.
"Iliganons really love basketball," says Cruz, a twenty-year veteran of Philippine politics and a graduate of University of Santo Tomas during the heyday of gunner (and now Growling Tigers head coach) Pido Jarencio. "We believe that, with a long-term program in place, our players will finally be recognized for their talent, and perhaps make it to the PBA in a few years’ time."
With the equal intensity being shown by city sports director Freddie Siao, the basketball clinic is just one of many moves being undertaken by the city government to provide the industrial capital of the south a means for its people to keep fit and find their self-expression. The city supports two basketball teams, including the NBC sophomore Iligan Crusaders, who are coached by MBA veteran June Longalong, a member of the MBA champion Manila MetroStars that included Romel Adducul and Alex Compton.
One of the next projects of the city (home to some of the country’s biggest steel mills, cement factories and oil refineries) is the construction of a state-of-the-art gym to draw big sports and entertainment to the region. Iligan is home of the Philippines’s most breathtaking waterfalls, including the world-famous Maria Christina Falls and Tinago Falls.
"You can’t lose with sports," emphasizes Cruz, an active basketball player and champion duckpin bowler whose office is crowded with trophies he’s won throughout the Visayas ans Mindanao. "It gives us a chance to do something competitively and well, within the rules. That’s the way our people are."