THE PBA is set to welcome foreign guest team Bay Area anew in the Commissioner’s Cup, but sweeping changes will be made to ensure a level playing field this time around.
Pro league chief Willie Marcial said the Dragons will only be allowed to field one import in the season-opening tourney kicking off Oct. 15 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Nag-usap din kami ni coach Yeng (Guiao). Ang imports nila (Bay Area), katulad na rin ng imports ng PBA, isang import lang,” Marcial said last Tuesday in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the conference hall of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
“Kung magpapalit (ng import), kung paano rin magpalit ang PBA, 6-foot-9 ang height limit.
Ang mga locals nila ay dapat magbigay ng mga papeles at dapat mapatunayan na iyong mga magulang nila ay nasa China noong ipinanganak sila. Ganoon din ang hihingin natin,” he added.
With American reinforcements Myles Powell and Andrew Nicholson boosting Bay Area alternately, the Hong Kong-based quintet took the country by storm in the last edition of the mid-season meet.
The charges of coach Brian Goorjian topped the eliminations with a 10-2 mark and made short work of Rain or Shine in the quarterfinals.
The Dragons hurdled San Miguel Beer 3-1 in their best-of-5 semifinals duel.
Bay Area, however, lost to Ginebra in Game 7 of the Big Dance at the cavernous Philippine Arena in Bocaue– a match that drew a record 54,589 crowd.
The Dragons, given the luxury of having two imports, drew criticisms from inside and outside the league, foremost among them Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao.
Marcial said Bay Area can only have two Asian heritage cagers in their roster. The last time around, they had Hayden Blankley, born in Australia, and Kobey Lam, who hails from Canada. Both have Chinese blood.
The Dragons now also have Fil-Am guard Sedrick Barefield.
“Sa Asian heritage players, kahit mag-lima o anim silang players na Asian heritage,” Marcial said in the public sports program backed by San Miguel Corp., Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Milo, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. “At least dalawa lang ang puwedeng maglaro.”
A number of games are being scheduled in Hong Kong, while out-of-town games will be incorporated anew as part of the league’s official games following its successful staging of the preseason On Tour, where the PBA played in Tiaong, Quezon, Baliwag, Bulacan, Batangas City, and Dumaguete City.
