|
By Eddie G. Alinea, Contributor
THE opening of the PBA Fiesta Cup will be
delayed to give its 10 member clubs more time to acquire topnotch
imports, Commissioner Sonny Barrios announced during Friday’s
SCOOP weekly session at the Kamayan Restaurant in Padre Faura.
Barrios, who had finally agreed to steer the
pro-league’s day-to-day affair as a full-time commissioner from a
mere officer-in-charge, said the board had decided to move the
second conference’s inaugural from March 23, as originally
scheduled with an out-of-town game in a venue still to be decided,
to March 29.
“Davao City, I was told, is interested to
stage the opening game in connection to a celebration scheduled
there, but we have not yet decided on the matter,” Barrios said.
“The reason for rescheduling the date of
the opening of the Fiesta Cup is to give teams more time to get
their good respective imports,” Barrios explained.
“In addition, because we expect the
ongoing best-of-seven final between Purefoods and Sta. Lucia for the
Philippine Cup crown to the full seven-game route, we would like to
focus on what would be a long drawn-out series,” he added.
“Besides, no team has submitted its
reinforcement. So, to give them all the time to search for the right
talents that will fit for their teams, we postponed the opening for
a few days,” the former league executive director further said.
Teams are entitled to one import of
unlimited height, except for Coca Cola and Welcoat, which occupy the
bottom in the standing, which can get a pair each—one with
unlimited ceiling and the other no taller than 6-foot-1.
Barrios, who appeared as guest at the
session with chairman Tony Chua of Red Bull, also disclosed that the
league has opened the bidding for the right to be the PBA’s next
television carrier.
“The bidding is kind of a shotgun
approach, meaning we are inviting everybody interested, including
the PBA’s former partner Vintage Sports and even ESPN and ABC 5 to
submit their intention.
Barrios clarified that opening the bids
does not mean that ABC 5, whose contract will expire at the end of
the season, is still a part of the landscape as ABS-CBN and GMA 7
are.
On the reported interest of PBL champion
Harbor Centre to acquire a franchise, Chua said the board has yet to
receive the application letter of the Mikee Romero-owned team.
“What we know is what we read in the
newspapers, so how can we act based mainly on newspaper reports,”
Chua said.
|
