MANILA – The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) might open its doors for expansion as revealed by Board of Governors chairman Ricky Vargas.
In an online press conference on Wednesday, the TNT governor, who has been reelected as chairman, said he proposed the idea as the PBA looks to better from its earnings last season, bouncing back financially from the losses it had at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“When it was reported to us that there is some interest of new teams coming in to join the PBA—and we saw one of them showing strong interest to come in—we said, ‘Why don’t we start looking at expanding to 14?'” Vargas said, adding that the board approved the plan for a 14-team league as it is easier to manage than only 13.
The interest was apparent aftermath of the sale of the Alaska Aces franchise that saw at least five companies looking to buy the team.
Converge eventually won the Alaska sweepstakes, and the team will be known as the FiberXers starting this upcoming season, which will open on June 5.
The PBA’s last expansion came in 2014 when it welcomed Blackwater and Terrafirma to the league prior to the 2015 season.A third team, NLEX, also came in after buying the franchise relinquished by Air21, making the league a 12-team field. (PNA)