There's just barely a month left before the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League opens a brand new season that promises to be more exciting than ever. While the first two (2) seasons were indeed successful, expect significant changes that are set to be implemented by the MPBL in the coming season just to ensure that the fans remain engaged with the league.
Here are what we know so far.
A new name for a brand new season
Taking cue from the first and second seasons, the third (3) iteration of the MPBL will be officially called the Lakan Cup. For those who have not followed the league since its inception, the first (1st) season was named the Rajah Cup while the just concluded season was also known as the Datu cup. These names are terms fit for the Maharlikas during pre-colonial times.
In his book entitled "My Manila: A History for the Young", Nick Joaquin described a Lakan as the paramount ruler or paramount datu of the pre-colonial Tondo at a time when the Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the Philippines in the 1570's. One of the well known Lakans is Lakan Dula who is well remembered as one of the three rajahs that played a pivotal role in helping the Spaniards conquer the Pasig River Delta polities during the earliest period of the Spanish reign in the Philippines. The other two rajahs who co-ruled the Pasig River Delta with Lakan Dula were Rajah Matanda and Rajah Sulayman.
Both the terms Rajah and Lakan actually mean the same thing. So the use of the designation Rajah Lakan Dula is redundant.
The Philippines has long been freed from the oppressive colonial rule of the Spaniards which lasted for more than 400 years. With the passage of time, many of our heroes have been relegated to the backend of our memories. But with the re-introduction of pre-colonial royalty terms through basketball which is definitely the most loved sport in the country, the MPBL hopes to rekindle the adoration for these heroes and increase historical awareness and patriotism to the young generation of Filipinos.
Both the terms Rajah and Lakan actually mean the same thing. So the use of the designation Rajah Lakan Dula is redundant.
The Philippines has long been freed from the oppressive colonial rule of the Spaniards which lasted for more than 400 years. With the passage of time, many of our heroes have been relegated to the backend of our memories. But with the re-introduction of pre-colonial royalty terms through basketball which is definitely the most loved sport in the country, the MPBL hopes to rekindle the adoration for these heroes and increase historical awareness and patriotism to the young generation of Filipinos.
The MPBL grows further
The very first season of the MPBL or the Rajah Cup featured 10 pioneer teams. It included the inaugural champions Batangas City Athletics, Muntinlupa Cagers, Bataan Defenders (now Risers), Paranaque Patriots, Bulacan Kuyas, Caloocan Supremos, Quezon City Capitals, Valenzuela Classic, Navotas Clutch, and Imus Banderas.
In the second season or the Datu Cup, the field expanded with the addition of 16 more cities or provinces. The expansion squads paraded the San Juan Knights who eventually took home the ultimate prize. Also part of the expansion are the Manila Stars, Pampanga Lanterns, Makati Supercrunch, Davao Occidental, Bacoor Strikers, General Santos Warriors, Cebu City Sharks, Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines, Marikina Shoemasters, Basilan Steel, Laguna Heroes, Pasig Pirates, Pasay Voyagers, Mandaluyong El Tigre, and Rizal Crusaders.
This upcoming season, expect a more competitive tournament with the addition of four (4) more squads. The Bicol Volcanoes hopes to disrupt the balance of power in the South Division as they have assembled a strong contender spearheaded by ex-pros Rhonjay Buenafe and Alex Nuyles. As early as now, millons of bicolanos are pretty much excited to witness in person the exhilarating atmosphere of an MPBL home game. In fact, the management of the Bicol Volcanoes are looking forward to hosting at least 10 home games.
Not to be outdone is the new team from the South, the Mindoro Tamaraws. The said team is bankrolled by a group in Calapan represented by Justin Tan who is a member of the La Salle Green Hills coaching staff. David Banal and recent board member- elect Michael Leachon will manage the Tamaraws. So far, the team has not announced its final lineup yet unlike the Bicol Volcanoes. For those who are interested, just follow the facebook page of the Tamaraws for their tryouts schedule.
Another newbie team which is looking to make a splash in the MPBL is the Nueva Ecija Miguards which is owned by the group of Christian Singson. Incidentally, Mr. Singson previously owned the franchise of the Mandaluyong El Tigre. But since he is transferring his franchise to Nueva Ecija, the Mandaluyong Franchise was given to the group of former PBA player Benjie Calpito.
Similar to the Tamaraws, the Team from Nueva Ecija is still assembling its squad by holding tryouts both in Metro Manila and in Nueva Ecija. So far, no marquee names have been announced as part of their team but don't dismiss them out yet. The season will be very long which makes it difficult to predict the outcome of the games.
The last team which is certain to join the fast-growing family of the MPBL is a team from Ilo-ilo. However, there are two teams bidding for the franchise and as of press time, no group has been selected yet. According to reports, Manny Pacquiao is still choosing who to award the franchise and he expects to award it soon so that the team owner will have enough time to prepare.
It was the group of Norman Ramos, the executive vice-president of the La Filipina Uygongco Group of Companies, who first expressed their intent to represent Iloilo. We could only surmise that all the stakeholders are negotiating the terms of the franchise; thus, the announcement as to who shall be the franchise owner is a bit delayed.
Right now, only Bicol and Mindoro have formalized their entry with the signing of the franchise agreement. But as the third (3rd) season is fast approaching, Iloilo and Nueva Ecija are also expected soon to formalize their entry as well.
It must be stressed that the franchise fee for the coming season is P50 million per team. This amount is five (5) the P10 million franchise fee paid by the 16 expansion teams during the second season and 125 times the P400,000 franchise fee given by the 10 pioneer teams. If we add all these fees, the MPBL would have a capital of P364 million which is good enough to pay the airtime in ABS-CBN for at least two (2) years.
Roster limit increased to 22 maximum players per team
In the previous two (2) seasons of the MPBL, a team can include up to 20 players on its roster. The first 15 can play during a game while the remaining five (5) players will serve as reserves just in case some will be injured, will be drafted to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), or will take a leave of absence due to various reasons.
With 26 teams in the Datu Cup, it meant that 520 basketball players were given a livelihood. This is one of the major reasons why MPBL plays a big role in developing talents. Those who could not make it to the PBA can now hone and show their skills without the need of going to other countries to play as imports.
The additional two slots in the roster of each team this coming season will open opportunities to 60 more players who can crack a spot on the 30 teams that will be participating. Those players are very much needed since the very long season can easily drive a player into exhaustion.
Out of the 22 roster spots, the MPBL mandated the competing teams to allocate at least three (3) slots to homegrown players. This will ensure that every team will become a tool in turning the vision of the MPBL in discovering grassroots talents a reality. Unknown to many pinoy basketball fans, there are still a number of young basketball talents waiting to be unearthed. Thankfully, we now have the MPBL which will serve as their springboard to a fruitful basketball career.
Teams can now sign up seven (7) ex-pros
Aside from increasing the maximum number of players per team, the MPBL has also allowed each squad to recruit up to seven (7) ex-professional basketball players. However, it must be emphasized that only five (5) of them can play at the same time in a game. In other words, the other two (2) ex-pros will be reserved players.
This move was made in response to the clamor of the team owners during their meeting hosted by Manny Pacquiao recently. According to them, an MPBL season will take around 10 months to finish which increases the risk of losing a key player midway in the season due to injuries. Such injury might even cost the team a playoff berth especially if the race in the standings is tight.
With the additional slots for two (2) more ex-professional players, the teams will have assurance that they can field a competitive team throughout the long season. In the unfortunate event that one of their ex-pros goes down due to injury, they can readily activate one from the reserved list. This way, they can at least maintain their high level of play until such time that their star player returns.
This move was made in response to the clamor of the team owners during their meeting hosted by Manny Pacquiao recently. According to them, an MPBL season will take around 10 months to finish which increases the risk of losing a key player midway in the season due to injuries. Such injury might even cost the team a playoff berth especially if the race in the standings is tight.
With the additional slots for two (2) more ex-professional players, the teams will have assurance that they can field a competitive team throughout the long season. In the unfortunate event that one of their ex-pros goes down due to injury, they can readily activate one from the reserved list. This way, they can at least maintain their high level of play until such time that their star player returns.
2 Fil-Foreign players can join a team but only one can play at a time
Previously, the MPBL only allowed one (1) filipino-foreign player per team. But for the coming season, the league has relaxed its rules by allowing a maximum of two (2) fil-foreign basketball players in each squad. Nonetheless, only one (1) fil-foreign can play on the court at any given time during the game. It was not made clear though as to what will be the penalty or sanction should a team violate the said rule.
With this move, the league will have enough room to employ a possible total of 60 fil-foreigner basketball players from all over the world provided that the height limit of 6'4 will not be exceeded. This number will be at par with the number of fil-foreigners playing in the PBA. In the latter, each team is limited to a maximum of five (5) fil-foreigners per team or a total of 60 fil-foreigners for the whole league since there are 12 teams competing.
The inclusion of more fil-foreign players is expected to elevate the level of competition in the MPBL. We have a lot of kababayans abroad who have Filipino blood. Unfortunately, the PBA can't accomodate all of them so it will be a great injustice and a waste of talent if they cannot showcase what they got. Who knows, these kids can be the next Gilas Pilipinas standouts. They are very lucky that we now have the MPBL where they can display their game on national TV.
Although height limit of 6'4 was retained, there would still be enough of talented and versatile fil-foreigners who can bring excitement into the fledgling league of Manny Pacquiao. This is definitely a step into the right direction, but hopefully, the league can gradually increase the height limit so that our local big men can hone more their skillsets.
With this move, the league will have enough room to employ a possible total of 60 fil-foreigner basketball players from all over the world provided that the height limit of 6'4 will not be exceeded. This number will be at par with the number of fil-foreigners playing in the PBA. In the latter, each team is limited to a maximum of five (5) fil-foreigners per team or a total of 60 fil-foreigners for the whole league since there are 12 teams competing.
The inclusion of more fil-foreign players is expected to elevate the level of competition in the MPBL. We have a lot of kababayans abroad who have Filipino blood. Unfortunately, the PBA can't accomodate all of them so it will be a great injustice and a waste of talent if they cannot showcase what they got. Who knows, these kids can be the next Gilas Pilipinas standouts. They are very lucky that we now have the MPBL where they can display their game on national TV.
Although height limit of 6'4 was retained, there would still be enough of talented and versatile fil-foreigners who can bring excitement into the fledgling league of Manny Pacquiao. This is definitely a step into the right direction, but hopefully, the league can gradually increase the height limit so that our local big men can hone more their skillsets.
A shorter season and a new production team
According to reports, the production of MPBL games will now be handled by ABS-CBN S+A. If you are not aware, the production of the MPBL games during the recently concluded Datu cup was managed by ALV Events International chaired by Arnold Vegafria. The league was just a blocktimer in ABS-CBN S+A.
The said arrangement is going to change in the coming third (3rd) season or the Lakan Cup because the production of the games will now be put under control of ABS-CBN S+A. As a result, changes are also looming as to who will be the commentators or courtside reporters during the games.
There might also be changes in the game days of the MPBL which were previously aired every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. But with the addition of four (4) more teams and with each team competing on a single-round robin format, there will be more matches that needs to be scheduled and aired. Hence, both the MPBL and ABS-CBN are contemplating on adding more game days, perhaps to daily. This way, fans will no longer have to wait for a long time since the interval between the games of their favorite team will be shorter. A daily schedule will also be favorable for the league since their exposure will be more extensive which in turn will attract more advertisers.
The said arrangement is going to change in the coming third (3rd) season or the Lakan Cup because the production of the games will now be put under control of ABS-CBN S+A. As a result, changes are also looming as to who will be the commentators or courtside reporters during the games.
There might also be changes in the game days of the MPBL which were previously aired every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. But with the addition of four (4) more teams and with each team competing on a single-round robin format, there will be more matches that needs to be scheduled and aired. Hence, both the MPBL and ABS-CBN are contemplating on adding more game days, perhaps to daily. This way, fans will no longer have to wait for a long time since the interval between the games of their favorite team will be shorter. A daily schedule will also be favorable for the league since their exposure will be more extensive which in turn will attract more advertisers.
New coaches from the PBA
More and more ex-PBA coaches are taking their talent to the MPBL. Such migration of skilled talents will certainly elevate the level of competition in the MPBL. With their craft and experience, they will infuse a different kind of system that will bode well for the league.
Leading the migration of former PBA mentors is Jong Uichico who previously coached the Talk n text team in 2016 and the Gilas Pilipinas National team. Coach Uichico will now take over the head coaching job of the revamped Bataan Risers. He replaced coach Jojo Lastimosa who mentored the risers to a number one (1) seed in the Northern Division but faltered in the division semifinals.
Meanwhile, coach Bong Ramos will take the helm at the Pampanga Lanterns team who are looking to breathe new life in their campaign. In the past season, they barely missed the playoffs as they relinquished the eight spot to the Caloocan Supremos via a win-over-the-other rule.
Coach Ramos last mentored the Blackwater Elite before transferring to the MPBL. He hopes to exceed expectations especially since the Lanterns has signed up key talents.
Another returning coach is Chris Gavina who briefly coached the Valenzuela Classic but was later removed after they struggled to win games. Gavina will be joined by Coach Aldrin Morante in the Bacoor Strikers side.
International game in Dubai
In an attempt to grow further the reach of the MPBL, the league is taking its games to Dubai and Oman tentatively on September 2019. Filipino basketball fans in the middle east are very much eager and excited to watch live an MPBL game.
If the NBA has its global games, the MPBL will have its own version of international games. This is one big leap for the upstart league as it tries to solidify its brand.
With all of these changes, we hope they will all improve the league. We arenlooking forward to a more exciting league this coming season.
Leading the migration of former PBA mentors is Jong Uichico who previously coached the Talk n text team in 2016 and the Gilas Pilipinas National team. Coach Uichico will now take over the head coaching job of the revamped Bataan Risers. He replaced coach Jojo Lastimosa who mentored the risers to a number one (1) seed in the Northern Division but faltered in the division semifinals.
Meanwhile, coach Bong Ramos will take the helm at the Pampanga Lanterns team who are looking to breathe new life in their campaign. In the past season, they barely missed the playoffs as they relinquished the eight spot to the Caloocan Supremos via a win-over-the-other rule.
Coach Ramos last mentored the Blackwater Elite before transferring to the MPBL. He hopes to exceed expectations especially since the Lanterns has signed up key talents.
Another returning coach is Chris Gavina who briefly coached the Valenzuela Classic but was later removed after they struggled to win games. Gavina will be joined by Coach Aldrin Morante in the Bacoor Strikers side.
International game in Dubai
In an attempt to grow further the reach of the MPBL, the league is taking its games to Dubai and Oman tentatively on September 2019. Filipino basketball fans in the middle east are very much eager and excited to watch live an MPBL game.
If the NBA has its global games, the MPBL will have its own version of international games. This is one big leap for the upstart league as it tries to solidify its brand.
With all of these changes, we hope they will all improve the league. We arenlooking forward to a more exciting league this coming season.
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