TOP officials of the PBA are set to leave for Macau after the Philippine Cup Finals to formalize the participation of the home team Black Bears in the second conference of the pro league.
Commissioner Willie Marcial along with board vice-chairman Alfrancis Chua will be going to the vibrant Special Administrative Region of China to meet with Macau team owners Jackie Fung and Lukas Peng to close the deal on the Black Bears serving as guest ballclub in the Commissioner's Cup.
The meeting will be held from Feb. 6-8.
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Marcial said the participation of the Black Bears is already approved in principle during the last PBA board meeting.
The Black Bears will become the third foreign guest team to play in the mid-season conference after the Bay Area Dragons and the Hong Kong Eastern.
The commissioner said the same rules adopted by the league on the Dragons and Hong Kong Eastern will be applied to the Black Bears.
"Kung ano yung terms with Bay Area and Hong Kong Eastern before, yun pa rin ang ia-apply natin," said Marcial.
Under the previous rule, guest teams are allowed to tap two imports who can be used alternately during the course of the tournament.
The Black Bears have a tough act to follow as the Dragons went all the way to the Season 47 Commissioner's Cup Finals and almost won it all, only to lose against Barangay Ginebra in a deciding Game 7 before the biggest crowd ever in PBA history at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Hong Kong Eastern led the way in the Season 49 Commissioner's Cup elims, made it to the playoffs, before losing to eventual champion TNT in the quarterfinals.
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