DESPITE bombing out of the Olympic dream, eight members of the Smart Gilas-Pilipinas who have turned pro are expected to be major draws in the 37th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) that opens shop this Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.PBA commissioner Chito Salud said the former Gilas members are giving him several reasons to be excited and optimistic about the coming season.
“Undoubtedly,” said Salud when asked if the former Gilas players will have a positive effect on the league in terms of gate attendance and fans.
“The success of the Smart Gilas program will bring basketball higher to the consciousness of the fans and the entry of seven or eight players will definitely energize the PBA,” Salud told the league’s press launch for the new season in a Manila hotel on Wednesday.
Gilas mainstays JV Casio, Mark Barroca, Dylan Ababou, Mac Baracael, Chris Lutz, Marcio Lassiter and Jason Ballesteros were at the top of the list in last month’s annual Draft, while Japeth Aguilar is returning to Talk ’N Text after serving the national team for more than two years.
“These players will bring the fans to a different level of enthusiasm this coming season,” added Salud.
Casio and Lassiter are suiting up for Powerade, Barroca for B-MEG, Dylan Ababou for Barako Bull Energy, Ballesteros for Meralco, Baracael for Alaska and Lutz for Petron Blaze.
They were part of the team that finished fourth in the 26th International Basketball Federation (Fiba) Asia Championship for Men in Wuhan, China, last week.
“They will heighten the interest of the fans to the PBA,” echoed board chairman Mamerto Mondragon.
The league opens its new season with a lone game between Barangay Ginebra and the Elasto Painters at 6 p.m. AKTV 13 is now the official coveror for the league which has a new slogan “Kampihan na!”
The league is also back to a 10-team roster after Shopinas.com took the slot vacated by Barako Bull, which went on leave in the last two conferences of the 36th season.
The brand name Barako Bull, however, will remain. It takes the place of the Bert Lina-owned Air21. Lina’s group bought into the formerly George Chua-owned Barako and is now the majority owner of the team.
“There’s a conscious effort on our part to revive the old Red Bull slogan ‘Ang Bumangga, Giba’ that’s why we are using Barako Bull again,” said team governor Manny Alvarez.
Salud said the format for the three conferences remains, except for the Commissioner’s Cup where the league will no longer impose a height limit. For the Governors’ Cup, the ceiling for foreign reinforcements is pegged at six-foot-five.
The season-opening Philippine Cup will have seven out-of-town games with the Bolts and the Llamados leading the way in Batangas City on October 15. The other provincial matches will be in Victorias City in Negros Occidental, Panabo City in Davao del Norte, Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu, Tubod in Lanao del Norte, Lucena City in Quezon and Naga City in Camarines Sur.
PBA supports Gilas
THE PBA will continue supporting the national team program of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
In fact, Salud said the PBA has agreed to loan a maximum of 16 players for the new Smart Gilas team that will vie in the 2013 International Basketball Federation (Fiba)-Asia Championship for Men.
There are conditions, though, on the 16 players—that their participation in Gilas won’t disrupt the PBA’s schedule, that they won’t play in minor tournaments and that they will only play in the Fiba-Asia tournament.
“By the time the season ends in the first week of August [2012], they will have enough time to train with the national team,” said Salud, who admitted that the decision was reached even while the Wuhan tournament was ongoing.
“Initially we wanted 20, but we thought 16 is already adequate and we can substitute the players from time to time,” he added.
