D-League gets underway

The PBA D-League continues to live up to its mission of developing players for future elevation to the pro ranks. Last Monday, the D-League’s 10th conference got off to a rousing start with a doubleheader at the Filoil Flying V Arena as PBA commissioner Willie Marcial watched the games at the sidelines.

Since its inception in 2011, the D-League has been a training ground not only for players but also for referees. PBA deputy commissioner Eric Castro and supervisor of officials Bong Pascual monitor the performance of each referee in every game, looking for prospects to boost the ranks of the pro league. The D-League is open to school-based teams and commercial clubs. College players and free agent veterans are welcome to hone their skills. Scouts from the PBA’s 12 teams are often present in the stands, on the prowl for potential call-ups.

Under UAAP rules, a school team may see action in the D-League with the option of lining up only enrolled varsity athletes, including first-year players, eligible for next season. If a school chooses to add ex-PBA players or veteran free agents to the cast, only varsity players with at least one year of UAAP experience will be allowed to suit up. If a school enlists strictly varsity players, then even rookies may be brought in. La Salle, for instance, is making its D-League debut in the ongoing conference. The Archers chose to play a full school-based lineup so rookies like Amadou Ndiaye, Kameron Vales and Josh David may suit up. If La Salle opted to enlist former Archers Jaime Malonzo and James Laput who are no longer eligible for the UAAP next season, then the collegiate rookies wouldn’t have been allowed to play by the UAAP. Malonzo and Laput are US collegiate graduates who were one-and-done players with La Salle this past season. The Fil-Ams are playing for Marinerong Pilipino in the D-League but sat out last Monday’s game against Karate Kid-CEU as their Bureau of Immigration certification and Department of Justice confirmation were still under process.

A D-League school-based team may line up a maximum of 20 varsity players with 15 to suit up. Rosters may change during a conference to allow for flexibility. In the last eight seasons, the D-League has staged two conferences a year, the Aspirants and Foundation Cup. The Aspirants Cup is where most school-based teams participate to get ready for the UAAP and NCAA seasons. In 2016-17, San Beda took the Aspirants title with Cignal HD as sponsor. The next season, it was Lyceum’s turn on the Aspirants throne with Zack’s Burgers as sponsor. And last season, Ateneo captured the Aspirants crown with Cignal HD as sponsor.

Pro clubs NLEX, Blackwater and Phoenix got their start in the D-League. NLEX won six of the first seven D-League championships while Phoenix took the Aspirants and Foundation Cups titles in 2015-16. Blackwater won the Foundation Cup championship in 2012-13.

The Aspirants Cup would’ve opened last Feb. 13 but was delayed until last Monday to give D-League officials more time to assess the coronavirus situation. There were 137 players who applied for the D-League draft last January and 41 were selected. The D-League started its version of a rookie draft in 2013-14.

PBA rules apply in the D-League and in the current Aspirants Cup, rules to be introduced in the coming PBA season are now in use. The new PBA rule of a 14-second frontcourt inbound reset is being applied in the D-League. The only difference in the rules is in the D-League, each quarter is 10 minutes. Like in the PBA, players are allowed to call timeouts on the floor but the rule isn’t likely to be used by school-based teams as coaches wouldn’t want their players to get used to bail out since the varsity leagues don’t allow it. In the game between Eco Oil-La Salle and Wangs-Letran last Monday, the Archers were once slapped with a five-second inbound violation and the inbounding player declined to call a timeout.

The D-League games are on Mondays and Thursdays. There will be a tripleheader at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig today starting at 1 p.m. Games will be held at Ynares or Paco Arena. The 12 participating teams are coach Randy Alcantara’s ADG Dong-Mapua, coach Yong Garcia’s Marinerong Pilipino, coach Derick Pumaren’s Eco Oil-La Salle, coach Pipo Noundou’s Family Mart-Enderun, coach Mark Herrera’s AMA Online Senior High, coach Egay Macaraya’s Apex Fuel Mindanao-San Sebastian, coach Rensy Bajar’s Diliman College, coach Aldin Ayo’s Builders Warehouse-UST, coach Jeff Napa’s Karate Kid-CEU, coach Olsen Racela’s Seaoil-FEU, coach Bonnie Tan’s Wangs Letran and coach Potit de Vera’s TIP.

In the tournament format, the 12 teams play in a round-robin elimination with the top two placers advancing to the best-of-three semifinals outright. No. 3 will face No. 6 while No. 4 will engage No. 5 in the quarterfinals where the higher seeds enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage. Six teams will be ousted after the eliminations. The finals will be a best-of-three affair.

Marinerong Pilipino is favored to win its first D-League title after a runner-up finish in the Foundation Cup last year. It’s the only non-school-based team and the Skippers include the Gomez De Liano brothers Juan and Javi, former pro Allan Mangahas who’s 32, PBA guard Jansen Rios’ brother Jordan, Laput and Malonzo. Multi-titled coach Joel Banal is team consultant.