Amidst dwindling live gate attendance in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the PBA experimented with an innovation by inviting the Bay Area Dragons as a guest team in one of its conferences. The move proved successful as the championship series between the Barangay Ginebra and Bay Area Dragons in the Commissioner's Cup attracted thousands of fans both online and in the venue.
Barangay Ginebra won that series and the PBA benefited immensely from the traction that the championship series drew. It is therefore a no-brainer that the PBA is planning to invite Bay Area Dragons anew for another stint in the upcoming conference after the FIBA World Cup.
While it was indeed a good move, Governor Delta Pineda is suggesting that PBA should also invite provincial teams as guest teams in the PBA. The Pampanga Giant Lanterns coached by Governor Pineda himself may give some lowly PBA teams a run for their money.
The Pampanga Giant Lanterns are currently leading the team standings in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). With Justine Baltazar and Encho Serrano leading the Lanterns, the team is simply dominating the competition in the MPBL.
Attracting fans to watch the games live at the arena will not be a problem for the Lanterns. In all of its home games in the MPBL this 2023 season, the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center is always filled to the brim. This just proves that provincial teams are able to attract fans despite a dearth of basketball stars.
So would a Pampanga Giant Lanterns versus Blackwater or Terrafirma a good proposition? Can the Lanterns get a win against any PBA team? That surely is an intriguing point and we, the basketball fans, are all for it.