CHICAGO - The plan to lift the height restrictions for imports is an excellent move by the PBA, one where commissioner Willie Marcial deserves credit for.
Basketball is position-less now, devoid of borders. It shouldn't have a ceiling where someone is too tall to play.
Junking the height restriction for imports will reinvigorate the fan base and provide an oasis for the desert of empty seats that have plagued PBA arenas for years, so much so that some playing dates have been relegated to smaller venues.
READ PBA eyes lifting of import height limit next season, says Marcial
Allowing a firecracker in 6-foot-10 Dwight Howard, who can market just about anything under the sun, will be great PR for the PBA, not to mention the entertainment value he brings with his world-class play.
Players such as seven-foot JaVale McGee, now nearing the sunset of his NBA career, and former Boston Celtic Tacko Fall, might consider playing as imports once the rules allow.
NO RISK. HIGH REWARD.
There's just no downside to a potential change that ends the humdrum of bringing in the same imports every conference.
When it comes to the two-import format, Marcial told the Let it Fly podcast that the league is still "lukewarm" to the idea on the basis that it diminishes the opportunities for locals to "shine."
I disagree. The Japan B.League has multiple imports and they seem to be doing just fine.
But I also share Marcial's concern on this one in the sense that, I think, the two imports are advantageous to the rich teams that have bigger budgets to rein in the more pricey, more talented reinforcements.
The two-imports format will only complicate the existing lack of parity that the league is, I'm hoping, trying to fix.
But the real story here is the PBA's willingness to embrace change and better its product.
Like they say, better late than never.
ALL-SMC FINAL?
Barangay Ginebra in the finals is good for the PBA. Not only does it galvanize a ferocious Never-Say-Die fan base, it guarantees box-office success.
But it's hard to root for a San Miguel-Ginebra match-up when we know that whoever wins, the Philippine Cup ends up in the hands of the same company anyway.
Meralco in the finals would present a great storyline, one that's easy to sell, a tale that's almost as old as time - MVP group versus SMC bloc.
Unfortunately, the Bolts cannot seem to overcome the genius of coach Tim Cone.
Just when you think he's being out-coached by Meralco's 1-2 brain power vibe of coach Luigi Trillo and active consultant Nenad Vucinic, Cone keeps plucking aces off his sleeve like a cunning, ruthless card shark.
Of all Ginebra's heros, C-Stan is A-plus.
Standhardinger's game has grown so much that his vastly improved mid-range game make him unstoppable as shown by his 34-point output on 12-of-17 shooting from the field that helped Ginebra erase a 15-point Game 5 deficit.
Let's see what the Meralco coaching staff is up to for Game 6 but Cone, with his hour-long walks with his wife Cristina, seems to have all the bright ideas.
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