ON PBA EXPANSION – 14 TEAMS AND PBA ASIA?

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First, the PBA expands to 12 teams (and has the world’s first coach-politician-boxing-champ hybrid).

Next, the PBA is talking about the possibility of having Asian imports.

Then, the PBA wants to eventually expand to 14 teams (with the Hapee and SM groups waiting for the go signal).

Now, the PBA wants to take over Asia.

When I first read about the PBA mulling over the prospect of expanding to as many as 14 teams by, at the earliest, the 2016-2017 season, I was quite skeptical (read about the perils of overexpansion here). Judging by how the rosters of current expansion squads NLEX, Blackwater, and Kia hardly inspire fandom, I felt that maybe expanding this fast would be a little too risky. You see, the keys to good expansion are: maintaining relative parity (which means putting up structures to give new teams a fair shot at being competitive) and generating adequate fan interest for the expansion clubs.

One can perhaps liken league expansion to having a whole pie currently being shared by (divided among) an X number of teams and then thinking of adding to that number. For the league to remain healthy (read: profitable and entertaining), the pie itself needs to expand/grow just as the number of teams goes up. Imagine eating a 12-inch pizza pie with five other friends one night and then sharing the same size pizza with seven other friends the following day. You’ll get diminishing returns, and when that happens to pro sports teams (especially teams that are not part of any big conglomerates), there is clear and present danger for those clubs to become unsustainable.

Admittedly, I was more than a little concerned that adding two more teams in the next couple of seasons might mean the PBA is expanding a little too aggressively.

My worries were tempered, however, when I read about the PBA also thinking of taking in Asian imports and even, one day, expanding its reach to other countries in the continent.

Based purely on theory and my unbridled passion for Asian hoops, I think that having Asian imports is definitely an initiative worth trying out. There are some reservations, of course, like the apparent linguistic and cultural barriers. Maybe for some big time and accomplished international hoopsters like Fadi El-Khatib, Hamed Haddadi, or even Zaid Abbas, salary could also be an issue (PBA teams will probably have to pay them around the same amount regular imports are paid to lure them to play in Manila). In addition, these guys have their own local leagues, most of which usually finish around the same time the PBA’s Commish Cup is at its height. Is playing in Manila, no matter how enticing or financially rewarding it might be, something these guys can fit in their schedules?

In spite of those roadblocks, though, I still think this idea has the potential to add a unique flavor to the PBA and give local fans something new to see, not to mention address issues of parity. At the very least, we’ll see a lot of different styles of play from Asian imports (whereas American imports almost exclusively play “a certain way”). West Asians like El-Khatib, Mahdi Kamrani, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, and Sam Daghlas will probably remind hoop nuts of physical and deliberate Euro-style basketball, while East Asians like Tseng Wen-Ting (the long-haired Taiwanese big man), the Takeuchi twins (currently wreaking havoc in the Asian Games), Cho Sung-Min (ooooh, I’d love to see him on the same team as other shooters, like, say, JV Casio, RJ Jazul, and DonDon Hontiveros in Alaska), and perhaps even Sun Yue will use the classic combo of speed and shooting. Pinoys will have new idols to look up to and will relish seeing our own locals go up against the best and brightest of Asia on a constant basis.

Primarily, however, if ever the PBA does go down this road, it’ll be because the league wants a greater reach and a bigger audience – practically a more sizable market for all its ventures. One interesting analogy is local brand Bench actually using Korean basketball superstar Lee Seung-Jun as a commercial model to further expand its fanbase and reach. If the PBA wants to penetrate other Asian basketball markets, perhaps having Asian imports as de facto brand ambassadors does make sense.

Deep down, though, what I’m hoping is that this becomes a catalyst for a true Asian professional basketball league that can be patterned after the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Perhaps someday we won’t even argue about whether having Asian imports is an issue because Asian players moving from one team to another (like Europeans, Americans, and Africans do in the Euroleague) in an Asian league will be commonplace (How about Arwind Santos playing for Ulsan Mobis Phoebus of Korea or Terrence Romeo being employed by Club Sagesse of Lebanon?). I believe that kind of development will really raise the level of competition in the continent and help all Asian teams further close the gap with countries from Europe and the Americas.

All in all, if done well, the PBA’s expanding to 14 teams, having Asian imports, and exploring the Asian market are all steps in a potentially brighter direction.

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