Philippine Basketball League

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Philippine Basketball League
Philippine Basketball League
Sport Basketball
Founded 1983
Motto Where the future begins
No. of teams 8
Country(ies) Flag of the Philippines Philippines
Most recent
champion(s)
Harbour Centre Batang Pier (V-Go Extreme Energy Drink Cup and Lipovitan Amino Sports Drink Cup)
Official website PBL Official Website - The Philippine Basketball League

The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) is a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league is composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars in the fold.

Contents

[edit] History

The PBL was formed on 1983, a brainchild of San Miguel Corporation chairman Danding Cojuangco, under its original name the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL). It was the successor of the defunct Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA), which folded during the early-1980s. During the inaugural PABL tournament, over 36 collegiate and commercial teams participated in the tournament that was played in the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The PABL became a breeding ground for future Philippine Basketball Association superstars Allan Caidic, Samboy Lim, Bong Alvarez, Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa and Benjie Paras. In the early days, the league even invited some foreign squads to beef up the tournament.

In the 1990s, the league was renamed as the Philippine Basketball League under Andy Jao, who would later return to the broadcasting panel of the PBA coverage on Vintage Sports. Jao's replacement, Charlie Favis later adopted a new theme, calling the PBL as the "faster league".

Yeng Guiao replaced Favis, when Guiao left the coaching ranks. The league gained early success with the dominance of the Tanduay Rhum Masters, the arrival of Eric Menk and Asi Taulava, and holding PBL games at the air-conditioned Makati Coliseum.

In 2000, former Vintage Sports commentator Chino Trinidad replaced Guiao, when the commissioner resigned to coach Red Bull in the Philippine Basketball Association, the country professional basketball league. The PBL's popularity grew, inviting commercial teams bannered by a single collegiate teams and also gained a stable broadcast partner in Studio 23. This year, PBL broke away from Studio 23 and signed an agreement with cable channel Basketball TV to broadcast the games.

Trinidad is currently in his eighth year as commissioner.

[edit] Teams

[edit] Current teams

[edit] Notable former members

[edit] Media

Beginning the 2007 season, the PBL games are seen on Basketball TV (a channel of the Solar family of cable networks) after several years of being shown on UHF television station Studio 23. Games are televised every Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 5-9 pm Philippine time plus rebroadcasts on BTV in the wee hours of the morning. RPN also has a delayed telecast of Tuesday's second game, but has since moved to IBC-13 on Saturdays, beginning with the season-ending Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup.

Prior to BTV, previous broadcasters includes ABS-CBN, People's Television Network (later National Broadcasting Network), Silverstar Sports, Solar Sports and Vintage Television, as the games are usually put on airtime slots. With ABS-CBN, the league initially forged a deal in 2003 as a blocktimer, then in 2004 renewed ties to make ABS-CBN Sports its official TV producer/coverer and Studio 23 its official carrying station of the games.

DZSR Sports Radio 918 kHz, a government station, has been airing the PBL games on radio since the start of the PABL back in the mid-1980's.

In 2002, the league opened its official website, myPBL.com, powered by E-Highway. In 2007, the website transferred to a new address at PhilippineBasketballLeague.org

[edit] The PBL and the Philippine Basketball Association

The Philippine Basketball Association, the premier basketball league in the country, has a special relationship with the PBL; several teams in the PBL are owned by companies also having PBA teams (such as San Miguel Corporation's PBL team is San Mig Coffee, with SMC also owning 3 PBA teams). The PBL is also one of the leagues where the PBA gets their players. Even quite a few successful PBL teams transferred to the PBA (although a system of promotion and relegation is not practiced in the Philippines), such as Purefoods, Red Bull and most recently Welcoat.

[edit] Commissioners

  • Jose "Joe" Pavia (1983-1984)
  • Mauricio "Moying" Martellino (1985-1988)
  • Andy Jao (1989-1990)
  • Gregorio "Ogie" Narvasa III (1991-1992)
  • Philip Ella Juico (1993-1994)
  • Charlie Favis (1994-1997)
  • Yeng Guiao (1997-2000)
  • Chino Trinidad (2000-Present).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Languages