PBA chairman Mon Seguismundo is optimistic three applicants will get the nod when the league's board of governors holds a special meeting on Thursday afternoon at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City.
Ever Bilena, owned by sportsman-businessman Dioceldo Sy, the NLEX company of the Manny V. Pangilinan group, and Columbia Auto Corporation, local distributor of Kia cars, need the three-fourths vote from the board to be accepted as the league's newest teams,
Seguismundo though is hopeful the applications won't have to go down to a vote and that that the board could come up with a consensus on the applications, which would mean seeing the pro league kick off its 40th season this October with an expanded 13-member ballclub.
“It’s a special board meeting that we will have on Thursday kaya yung three teams na yun ang pag-u-usapan. But if we can help it, we wouldn’t want to go that route (of voting), we hope there will be a consensus in the board,” Seguismundo told Spin.ph on Wednesday.
Seguismundo, who also serves as the senior vice president for human resources and corporate services of Meralco, bared that admitting new teams into the PBA is part of his goals when he assumed his chairmanship this season.
PBA commissioner Chito Salud already conducted due diligence the past two weeks on the three expansion team hopefuls and will be making the recommendations to the board.
“I have taken a look at their (three applicants) financial (status). They are all capable and I will recommend their acceptance to the board,” said Salud. “The prerogative of acceptance of these three teams exclusively belongs to the board.”
Salud also reiterated that should these three teams be admitted to the pro league, they will have to pay the new franchise fee of P100 million.
Red Bull was the last expansion team to be accepted in the PBA in 2000. The team was given the concession to elevate players from its PBL squad, among them Kerby Raymundo, Junthy Valenzuela, Jimwell Torion, Lordy Tugade, Davonn Harp, and Bernard Tanpua.
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