Commercial Basketball Comeback?

If you are a follower of Cebu Basketball, you’ll agree with us that we have been longing for basketball action at the open or “commercial” level. I’ll use the term commercial for now but it isn’t an accurate term. We’re talking about basketball beyond the college scene. We’re loaded with activities at the youth and school levels, but we’ve had a vacuum in commercial ball for over two decades. The last leagues that we can remember would be the MBA, Liga Pilipinas, Visayas Mindanao Basketball Association, NBC, Cebu Basketball Federation (CBF), Cebu Basketball League (CBL) and Mandaue Inter Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). All of these are long gone and under. And since then, we haven’t had a true-blue commercial (semi-pro) league.

Before anything else, let’s define commercial basketball. This is a league that can last a full year, with two or three tournaments played in a season/calendar. Teams agree to form the league and work on playing their tournaments on an agreed time table and in venues where the market is found. In the past, the CBF and CBL had a calendar that included a summer tournament, a Christmas pocket tournament and a regular tournament somewhere in between but not in conflict with the CAAA and later the CESAFI. This way, the league was able to tap the best players, whether they were college graduates or current players. Do you remember the teams like Casino Alcohol/IPI, Hapee, Skygo/Sir Litz, Chariot/RDAK and Granny Goose/GMC of the of the CBF? And did you know that Coach Yayoy Alcoseba won most of his trophies with M. Lhuillier or ML Kwarta Padala in the CBL? Among other more notable names include Tampico, Sunpride, Chowking, Megalotto, RRA and Upland Feeds. Pardon the long intro, but this is necessary to give a good picture of what we’d like to see soon because the signs are looking good.

In the past three months, Cebu Basketball has witnessed three short-term tournaments that could be a preview of a commercial league. We had the 1st Mayor Edgar Labella Christmas Inter-Commercial Basketball League last December. This was followed up by the weekend tournament Uy Masuy Cup featuring UV, UC, SWU-PHINMA and a team of Americans. Ongoing now is the Mayor Edgardo C. Labella 1st Charter Cup Basketball Tournament. The Cebu City Sports Institute Gym in Sawang Calero is the venue for all three, making it the busiest place for commercial basketball these days. The teams that played in the December tournament were champion JTR, Fighter Wine, ASPA Formworks, KCS Lapu-Lapu, ARQ/KSB Glass and the Siargao Wave Riders. The teams playing in the ongoing tournament that ends on Tuesday are ASPA, Kiboy’s Computer Solutions, LM Paragsa, Fighter Wine-University of Cebu, ARQ/KSB Steel Builders and Athalia/One on One. The December and today’s tournaments feature a mix of oldies but goodies, current college players and panalay players who have made basketball a livelihood. Special mention would have to be the duo of ex PBA players Dondon Hontiveros and Jojo Tangkay. Already in their early 40s, both continue to compete with the younger players and play key roles on their respective teams. Danny Aying is also still playing, delivering quality minutes. Also seeing action include well-known players who have been around like Jerrick Cañada, Ferdinand Lusdoc, John Abad, Harold Cincoflores and Reed Juntilla. Among the current players in the collegiate ranks seeing action are Shaq Imperial, Ted Saga, Froilan Maglasang, Gabriel Cometa, Melvin Butohan and Gileant Delator. That's an ideal mix of players needed for tournament like this or a commercial league in the near future.

But the most refreshing and key ingredient in these games is the presence of a new breed of team owners/managers who have been generously supporting their respective teams. My wish is that they can get together as one unit for form a new basketball league that can stand on its own two feet. They can’t keep depending on the generosity of the Cebu City Sports Commission that also has its limits. If the team owners can form this league, that would be a blessing from heaven for the basketball community.

What to do? They can form a board of governors/team owners that will set the general direction of the organization. Next up is to set up an operations office that will run the day-to-day activities of the league. It will be led by an Executive Director (or Commissioner) and be assisted by a technical director/head. This office will be guided by the general direction set by the board, but the board should not have a hand in the league’s operations. They should be busy taking care of their respective teams. As a start, the board will have to split the cost of the operations of the league in an open book/transparency system. The board approves the budget and all teams agree to split the cost. They can tap a marketing arm or consultant who can work on bringing in corporate sponsors and provide them branding mileage in different ways. Aside from the usual on ground merchandising (tarps, posters and banners), the league can also look into TV coverage via Facebook Live. Social media will also play a key role where news, updates, pictures team standings and statistics will be a regular feature. The more reach this gets, chances are that sponsors will come in and will want to be part of it. Games can be played in different places that are thirsty for basketball action. The Cebu City Sports Institute is a given but other places that also draw large crowds are Minglanilla, Toledo, Talisay, Lapu-lapu and Bogo. Friendly ticket prices should be offered at the start and some might even be free to the public. And here’s a Christmas wish. When the league picks up, games can be played at the SM Seaside Arena in the future!

I can already smell it……the return of Cebu commercial basketball.