PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said that league expansion ranks among the top priorities for the upcoming year, but acknowledged facing challenges in the process of realizing this goal as swiftly as desired.
In an interview on Cignal’s Long Conversation, Marcial said he has spoken to companies to convince them to join the PBA, and add to the 12 teams that are already in the league.
But Marcial admitted that talks among the prospective companies have bogged down.
Marcial bares marching orders to look for expansion teams
“May marching order sa akin ang board, sana makakuha tayo ng expansion team. Tinitignan natin, (pero) mahirap eh. May kinakausap ako, okay sila, biglang magbo-bog down. May kausap ako, okay sila, biglang hindi. Ang hirap,” said Marcial.
However, Marcial maintains an optimistic outlook for the PBA in 2024. He aims to enhance the league's connection with the public through various means, including an improved TV coverage of the games.
The PBA had already announced that CNN Philippines will be a new broadcast partner as it will show weekend games live on the network.
“Sinabi ko noon na papaayos natin ang coverage. Masusing pinag-aaralan natin, ng TV5, Cignal, at PBA kung papaano natin mapapaganda ang coverage,” said Marcial.
PBA matches abroad mulled
Marcial also said it will be a dream of his that the PBA will be able to play out-of-the-country games sooner rather than later.
The league commissioner said there have been preliminary talks in the past about interest in bringing the games outside the Philippines.
“Dahan dahan tayong naglalaro sa out-of-town, ‘yung makalaro tayo sa ibang bansa, mapakita natin ang basketball ng Pilipinas at mapanood tayo ng ating mga kababayan. (Sana) once a month, makalaro tayo sa ibang bansa, malaking bagay ‘yun,” said Marcial.
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