(From Inquirer Sports)
A MERGER BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINE Basketball League (PBL) and Liga Pilipinas started to take shape Monday, with no less than the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) pushing for the union of the two commercial leagues.
“We think that the two leagues can work together,” PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad said after his initial talks with representatives of the PBA and Liga Pilipinas yesterday.
“Liga will retain its personality as a regional league, while the PBL will also retain its own personality as a developmental league,” added Trinidad. “Even the PBA stands to benefit (from the merger).”
Joining Trinidad in the “first round of talks” were Liga president and CEO Noli Eala, PBA chair Lito Alvarez and Liga technical chief Perry Martinez.
Alvarez said the merger, targeted for a February or March kickoff, can also help improve the leagues’ officiating.
“Admittedly, we see opportunities for improvement at the referees’ rank,” said Alvarez. “We can have a training academy and the best performers can look forward to officiating in the PBA.”
“We’re looking at the relevance of the merger in the Philippine basketball landscape,” added Trinidad.
“If the two leagues become one, will it become more vibrant? It does not follow that if the merger becomes a reality, it will indeed be stronger. So we’re carefully looking at the rationale behind the merger.”
Trinidad said the summary of yesterday’s talks will be presented to the respective league’s board members, before their next meeting on Jan. 25.
“We complement each other,” said Alvarez. “We can have some PBA teams adopt PBL and Liga teams. We can lend some of our assistant coaches or even our excess players, for them to have a decent exposure.”
A MERGER BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINE Basketball League (PBL) and Liga Pilipinas started to take shape Monday, with no less than the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) pushing for the union of the two commercial leagues.
“We think that the two leagues can work together,” PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad said after his initial talks with representatives of the PBA and Liga Pilipinas yesterday.
“Liga will retain its personality as a regional league, while the PBL will also retain its own personality as a developmental league,” added Trinidad. “Even the PBA stands to benefit (from the merger).”
Joining Trinidad in the “first round of talks” were Liga president and CEO Noli Eala, PBA chair Lito Alvarez and Liga technical chief Perry Martinez.
Alvarez said the merger, targeted for a February or March kickoff, can also help improve the leagues’ officiating.
“Admittedly, we see opportunities for improvement at the referees’ rank,” said Alvarez. “We can have a training academy and the best performers can look forward to officiating in the PBA.”
“We’re looking at the relevance of the merger in the Philippine basketball landscape,” added Trinidad.
“If the two leagues become one, will it become more vibrant? It does not follow that if the merger becomes a reality, it will indeed be stronger. So we’re carefully looking at the rationale behind the merger.”
Trinidad said the summary of yesterday’s talks will be presented to the respective league’s board members, before their next meeting on Jan. 25.
“We complement each other,” said Alvarez. “We can have some PBA teams adopt PBL and Liga teams. We can lend some of our assistant coaches or even our excess players, for them to have a decent exposure.”
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