IN its close to a decade of existence, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) faces its biggest crisis yet as it risks the departure of as much as 10 member teams amid mounting problems plaguing the regional league.
From a membership of 30 last season, the MPBL roster is down to 16 for its preseason tournament early next month as North Division powerhouse Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards filed a leave of absence and nine more teams are rumored to follow suit.
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Prior to the Rice Vanguards’ filing a leave of absence, Rizal, sources said, informed the MPBL of its non-participation in the league's 9th season. Other teams rumored to be filing leaves of absence are Pangasinan, Paranaque, Basilan, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Bacolod, Bicol, Davao, Pasig, Bulacan, Manila and Imus.
Convincing the teams to stay now stands as the biggest challenge of the league as it transitions to a new management team led by Emmerson Oreta, who takes over from Kenneth Duremdes amid rumors of upheavals from within.
Already, MPBL founder Manny Pacquiao fired a warning on Friday, saying in a statement released by the league office that member teams that will not compete in the coming season risk cancellation of their franchises.
The former senator insisted the option to go on leave of absence that was made available to the teams during the Covid-19 pandemic has been rescinded in 2023.
“During the pandemic, the MPBL allowed leaves of absence for a limited period of time, in order for our franchise owners to recover from a devastating situation we all faced,” he said. “However, since the 2023 MPBL season, that policy has since lapsed and been rescinded, which has been clearly communicated to each team owner.”
Pacquiao added: “Let me make this very clear to our fans, supporters and stakeholders, there are no longer leaves of absence allowed in the MPBL, for any reason. Failure to participate in the league’s regular season will result in severe penalties including, but not limited to, the revocation of the franchise.”
Some MPBL teams, however, insisted the LOA option is guaranteed in the league's by-laws and are considering contesting the Pacquiao stand.
But even without these teams, the MPBL is still guaranteed a healthy number of participants in the coming season led by the Abra Solid North Weavers as well as South Division topnotcher Quezon - the team Abra beat in the last national finals.
Perennnial title-contender Go for Gold San Juan Knights are also set to compete, along with the Ilagan City Cowboys, Batangas City, Batang Kankaloo, Binan Tatak Gel, Muntinupa Cagers and two-time championPampanga Giant Lanterns.
Zamboanga, Cebu and Valenzuela will not join the preseason tournament set on February 7 but have signified intentions to join the regular season, sources said. Quezon City will use the preseason as a gauge for its continued participation.
While the looming exit of high-profile teams like Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and Imus is expected to create an imbalance, sources bared former PBA stars like Alex Cabagnot will be forming his own team as well as a second team from Pampanga.
Gensan and Sarangani, the two teams that Pacquiao himself backs, as well as old-timers Marikina and Mindoro are also expected to compete.
MPBL's longterm future at risk?
Despite having at least 20 teams for its next season, the MPBL's longterm future appears bleak as teams, except for a few, continue to struggle financially with mounting expenses and very little return in terms of revenue.
According to insiders, teams spend an average of P3 million a month while the big-spenders shell out between P30M to P50M in one season while the league, except for a title sponsor or two, relies largely on the financial backing of Pacquiao.
“Ang hirap din kasi ng gastos tapos walang return of investment. We hope the league will eventually realize the need to allow us to also market the league so we can get sponsors,” said a team official who requested anonymity.
“Tapos madalas ang players gusto per year ang contract, eh six months lang ang regular season, ang playoffs inaabot ng nine months, pero hindi naman regular ang laro. Madalas ang tagal ng break. Kaya duduguin ang owners sa pasweldo,” he added.
Worse, exposure is limited since the MPBL has no coverage in a major network to add to online platforms like Youtube and Facebook Live.
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