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Noli Eala, former commissioner of the Philippine
Basketball Association, wants to trace the roots of the league he
used to lead.
Eala is a major player in the
Liga Pilipinas, a community-based, LGU- supported, commercially
sponsored basketball league.
“We want to develop the talents
from the grass roots level,” Eala said on Tuesday at the PSA
Forum.
The Liga Pilipinas will open its
maiden season on May 23. It is divided into two divisions—the
Northern League and the Southern League. The league will be composed
of 14 players per team with at least eight homegrown talents,
maximum of two ex-pros and one fil-foreigner.
The Northern League is
composed of Ilocos Sur, Baguio, Pampanga, Taguig, and Cavite. The
participation of Batangas, Laguna and Rizal is on the final stage of
negotiation. Making up the Southern League are Cebu, Mandaue,
Bacolod and Iloilo from Visayas and Misamis Oriental/CDO, Zamboanga,
Davao and Ozamis from Mindanao.
Eala said the Liga Pilipinas has
already secured a three-year franchise. While the league will have
corporate partners like the defunct Metropolitan Basketball
Association, it is in no way going to compete against the PBA.
“I believe there are a lot of
hidden talents in some provinces that must see and develop”, said
Eala. “ We must give our aspiring players the chance to show what
they’ve got,” he added.
--Ryan Christopher Bartolome
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