TOP TEAMS ISASABAK NG PBA SA EASL

BUBUNOT ang PBA mula sa top four teams ng liga na isasabak nito sa inaugural home-and-away season ng East Asia Super League (EASL) sa susunod na taon.

Hindi pa napagdedesisyunan ng Board ng liga kung paano tutukuyin ang apat na koponan na isasama sa drawing of lots, ngunit sinabi ni Commissioner Willie Marcial na maaaring i-base ito sa order of finish sa Philippine Cup, na itinuturing na crown jewel ng pinakamatandang professional league sa Asia.

“Hindi pa napag-uusapan (sa Board) ‘yun, pero most likely ‘yung sa Philippine Cup,” ani Marcial.

Nitong Huwebes ay nagsagawa ang PBA at ang EASL ng virtual press conference upang ipormalisa ang kanilang partnership.

Kinatawan nina Marcial at Board Chairman Ricky Vargas ang liga sa media briefing na dinaluhan din ni EASL CEO at co-founder Matt Beyer.

Bukod sa top four teams, ipinahiwatig din ni Vargas ang posibilidad ng pagbuo ng koponan mula sa mga player ng apat na koponan, o ipadala ang Gilas Pilipinas squad ni coach Tab Baldwin.

“The simplest way that we talked about is by drawing lots,” sabi ni Vargas sa virtual presser. “The other way is also by forming teams around the top four teams, and the other one is we may even consider including in the discussion the Philippine team or the Gilas Pilipinas.”

“We want to be competitive, we will be competitive, and that’s the way we look at it,” dagdag ng PBA chairman. “Any of the top four teams that will go there will fight to their best.”

Kung ang katatapos na all-Filipino conference ang magiging basehan ng pagpili, inaasahang mapapasama sa drawing of lots ang reigning champion TnT Tropang Giga, Magnolia Hotshots, Meralco Bolts, at San Miguel Beermen.

Ayon kay Bayer, buo ang suporta ng EASL sa magiging desisyon ng PBA kaugnay sa magiging kinatawan nito sa regional tournament.

“We want to see the best Filipino teams possible and we want to have the best matches possible on a weekly basis,” aniya.

“We support the PBA’s method for selecting teams, and we’re looking forward to seeing strong Filipino teams taking part in the EASL.”

Dalawang PBA ballclubs ang magiging bahagi ng eight-team cast na kakatawan Japan B.League, Korean Basketball League (KBL), Chinese Taipei P. LEAGUE+, at isang seeded top Greater China team sa Hong Kong SAR na maglalaro sa ilalim ng home-and-away format sa group stage na nakatakda sa October 2022 hanggang February of 2023.

Ang mga koponan ay hahatiin sa dalawang grupo na may tig-apat na koponan.

Ang top two teams sa standings sa bawat grupo ay uusad sa semifinals, kung saan ang malalabing dalawang koponan ay magbabakbakan para sa championship sa March 2023 kung saan naghihintay ang $1 million prize money.

Ang runner-up ay tatanggap ng $500,000, habang ang third placer ay $250,000.

“It’s not all about money, but it’s also about pride, although the prize money is good,” ani Vargas. “But we’re a very proud organization and we’d like to be able to prove that we can compete with the best of Asia.”