There can’t be a Southeast Asian basketball league without a Philippine team.
Saturday afternoon, the ASEAN Basketball League opened its doors to a new Philippine team, as the Pilipinas Basketball Club, Inc. (PBCI) is set enter the 2016 season of the first and only professional regional basketball league in South East Asia.
The PBCI is owned by the sports management agency Virtual Playground, headed by Dondon Monteverde and Charlie Dy. Among the athletes under the Virtual Playground management are current PBA players and former ABL stars Moala Tautuaa, Justin Melton, and Kris Rosales.
“We at Virtual Playground and PBCI see the growing potential of the ABL,” Dy said.
“We just want the Philippines to be represented well that’s why we’re making this effort.”
PBCI’s roster and official team name for the upcoming seventh season of the ABL has yet to be finalized. Currently, they plan to play in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Cebu, and Davao.
PBCI will be the fourth team from the Philippines to take part in the league since its inception. The AirAsia Philippine Patriots, who won the inaugural championship in 2010; the San Miguel Beermen, who won the title in 2013; and the Pilipinas MX3 Kings (previously the Pacquiao Powervit Pilipinas Aguilas) have all previously represented the Philippines.
“Primarily, as a Filipino, it gives you great joy that your country is represented in the ABL,” said the Chief Operating Officer of the ASEAN Basketball League, Jericho Ilagan.
“Add to that the fact that Dondon (Monteverde) and Charlie (Dy) are very prominent and well-known in the sports industry, you know that they’d send a very competitive team.”
