By REYNALD MAGALLON
The PBA is studying the possibility of staging a pocket tournament in the middle of the season as the league faces a long lull after it agreed to give way to Gilas Pilipinas training for its title defense in the 2026 Asian Games as well as the August window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said the league agreed to give Gilas a 10-day training for each tournament with the third window of the qualifiers happening on July 3 and 6 against Australia and New Zealand while the Asian Games is set from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.
“So pasimula dun sa window (qualifier), maglalaro sila sa New Zealand and Australia. Tapos mga ilang araw, kaysa maglagay ako ng dalawang game days, ipapa-diretso ko na para sa Asian Games,” said Marcial during the two-day PBA Media Day at the Elements Eton Centris.
By his assessment, the league won’t be playing for at least 40 days and to keep the teams busy and in shape, the PBA, plans to host a mini-tournament.
And to add to spice, the addition of foreign teams is also being mulled along with the proposal to have a prize money for the champion team.
“Sana may mga makapunta sa tin na mga guest team. Ang gusto ng mga guest team, all-Filipino, dalawa gustong sumali pero hindi pwede so dun sa window na 40 days tayo na nakahinto,” said Marcial of the setup that will resemble the PBA on Tour.
Marcial did not disclose which foreign team could participate in the tournament but Macau Black Bears, Hong Kong Eastern and one Indonesian team have all expressed interest in playing in the PBA in the past.
Gilas head coach Tim Cone, meanwhile, hailed the PBA for its big sacrifice for the national team.
“That is really a huge advantage that the PBA is giving to us,” Cone said of the schedule adjustments which would allow him to pull out PBA players June Mar Fajardo, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Chris Newsome and Calvin Oftana early for the preparations.
