The Columbian Dyip franchise is set to be under new ownership.
On Wednesday, the PBA Board of Governors approved the transfer of ownership of the franchise from the Columbian Autocar Corporation to its sister company Terra Firma Realty Development Corporation.
It wasan item of discussion for the board during its meeting in the league’s office in Libis, where it also approved a move that seeks clearance from the government for a restart of player training with strict protocols for the safety of all concerned.
“This afternoon, I submitted a letter request on behalf of Columbian Autocar Corporation which owns the PBA franchise,” shared Dyip governor and PBA vice chairman Bobby Rosales during the virtual presser held via Zoom moments after the board meeting.
“The request is to transfer the franchise to its sister company, Terra Firma Realty Development Corporation,” added Rosales, noting that both companies are owned by Palawan Governor Jose “Pepito” Alvarez.
Rosales said that the reason behind the transfer was that the top brass has decided to streamline its operations – Terra Firma owns the assembly line of all the vehicles under the Columbian group.
Meanwhile, PBA chairman Ricky Vargas said that they have complied well with the rules of the league, although they still need to submit two or three more documents before the transfer of ownership becomes official.
“They satisfy all requirements of our constitution, and they just need to submit two or three more documents and have the board approve the change of ownership name,” said Vargas, who’s also the TNT KaTropa governor.
This is yet another change for the franchise, who entered the league in 2014 alongside Blackwater Elite as an expansion team. It has since undergone changes in its team name numerous times.
It first joined the league as KIA Sorento, with boxing icon and Sen. Manny Pacquiao as playing coach, then switched to KIA Carnival in the same season.
It then carried the Mahindra Enforcer banner in 2016, before turning it to Mahindra Floodbuster the next year. It switched yet again in 2017 to KIA Picanto, before becoming the Columbian Dyip in 2018, which it has been carrying since.
The young franchise has only had one playoff appearance so far, which was a quarterfinal appearance in the 2016 Governors’ Cup. Then, it had James White as import, with Chris Gavina manning the sidelines.
Last season, the Dyip amassed an 11-22 record, but it showed promise all throughout. There were glimpses of how good the team can be, especially with the emergence of 2018 top overall pick CJ Perez.
The Lyceum of the Philippines product quickly emerged as one of the league’s bright young stars as he was crowned the scoring champion, thus carving his way into the Mythical First Team.
