WAITING GAME FOR EXPANSION APPLICANTS
After meeting with the applicants’ top brass Monday, PBA commissioner Chito Salud will now dissect the figures and collate the results of his inquiry so he can then submit them to the Board of Governors submitted for their perusal.
In successive meetings, Salud and the PBA ManComm personally met with officials of Columbian Autocar Corp., Blackwater Sports and NLEX where the discussion mainly centered on each company’s financial capabilities.
“Tinanong lang niya kami about dun sa finances namin. Kung kaya ba naming mag-maintain ng team for the long haul,” said Dioceldo Sy, president of Ever Bilena company which owns Blackwater Sports.
“Mainam nga rin na tinanong na kami ngayon ni Comm kasi more or less pag humarap na kami sa Board, alam na namin ang mga possible na questions nila,” added the amiable company executive.
Columbian Autocar Corp. president Ginia Domingo for her part bared excitement as the Board, in the coming weeks, is set to decide on her company’s application.
“We are here (sa PBA office now), nangungumusta sa application namin. We are excited. Sana makuha kami,” said Domingo, who acknowledged the marketing power of the league.
“Alam mo just by the news of us applying here sa PBA, dumami ang sales ng KIA cars namin. Pati ang inquiry about our application naging madalas. We were surprised really!” she added.
NLEX president Rodrigo Franco, though confident about their finances, claimed he’d rather wait for the decision of the Board.
“Let’s leave it to them (Board). Basta kami we submitted all the needed documents, we answered the questions of the commissioner, we hope they appreciate the value we can give to this league,” said Franco.
“NLEX has a colorful campaign in the D-League and we would just want to up the level of our competition. I am confident we can form a competitive lineup, if and when, we are approved,” said the soft spoken former JP Morgan Chase investment banker in New York.
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