PBA to expand, may take in 2 more teams

MANILA, Philippines - PBA commissioner Chito Salud isn’t closing the league’s doors to more teams and said recently expansion may be the way of the future although there are no entities in line to make the jump at the moment.

“I think we’re ready to bring in two more teams, considering the quality and quantity of the players out there,” said Salud. “To be honest, there are no immediate takers at present but I’m sure we’ll have some soon. Two groups are interested to join but their capability to operate a franchise on a sustained basis is still being reviewed. The PBA is definitely on the upswing with record live attendance and TV ratings in the recent Commissioner’s Cup. We expect the same or even a stronger showing in the Governors Cup. We’ve been receiving inquiries from different companies about the requirements of a franchise. In time, we should be geared up for expansion.”

An owner of a PBA D-League team is now looking into the possibility of combining resources with a business partner to make a bid for a PBA franchise, whether existing or not.

What makes the PBA a sound business investment is its balance of power, meaning no one franchise dominates the three conferences in each season. The unpredictable nature of the competition makes for an exciting game. In the last four conferences dating back to the previous season, four different teams won championships – B-Meg in the 2012 Commissioner’s Cup, Rain Or Shine in the 2012 Governors Cup, Talk ‘N’ Text in the 2013 Philippine Cup and Alaska in the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup. In the last eight conferences, seven different teams made it to the Finals, another indication of parity.

Salud said he wasn’t surprised that in the recent Commissioner’s Cup Finals, live attendance and TV ratings were sky-high. “The only thing that surprised me was it ended so soon,” said Salud referring to Alaska’s 3-0 sweep of Ginebra San Miguel. “There was actually no need to hype the series. One team was on top of the standings from the start and entered the Finals as the No. 1 seed and the other came from behind to make it as the No. 7 seed. It made for an extremely entertaining series. The storyline, narratives and dimensions of the match-ups were unique to the Finals which made it special. I’m hoping that every team in the PBA eventually gets to experience and enjoy the Finals.”

According to figures released by TV5, Game 3 of the Commissioner’s Cup Finals registered a peak of almost four million viewers during the fourth quarter, representing a 31.2 percent audience share for the exciting finish. The contest placed sixth at the most-watched show in MEGATAM (Metro Manila and suburbs TV Audience Measurement) and tied at eighth in NUTAM (National Urban TV Audience Measurement) of the top 15 evening programs based on Nielsen Media Research overnight data.

As for Alaska’s emergence, Salud said he always knew the Gatas Republik was a sleeping giant. “Alaska has a large base of fans and it took this return to the Finals to wake them up and bring them back to the coliseum,” he said.

An attraction of the recent Commissioner’s Cup was the quality of imports. “Four teams never changed imports,” said Salud, referring to Alaska with Rob Dozier, Rain Or Shine with Bruno Sundov, Air 21 with Michael Dunigan and Meralco with Eric Dawson. “Barako would’ve been the fifth but they opted to change (Evan) Brock late in the conference. Petron probably wouldn’t have changed (Renaldo) Balkman if he wasn’t suspended. The only imports who may have underachieved were Herbert Hill and Henry Sims. Otherwise, we were treated to an outstanding crop of imports.”

In the Governors Cup starting Aug. 14, the height limit for imports is 6-5 and so far, the word is the quality will be the same as or higher than the previous conference.

Salud said credit to the PBA’s success goes to the team owners for their unconditional support. “I rely heavily on the team owners’ wisdom and experience,” he said. “On certain vital issues, I make the round of calls to reach out to the team owners for guidance and instructions.”

 Direction from the Board of Governors has also been essential in bringing us to where we are today.”