ENTER THE TITAN
There’s no more stopping a Titan from wreaking havoc in the PBA.
League commissioner Willie Marcial said on Thursday that only a few details need to be worked out before Pureblends assumes the NorthPort franchise, lock, stock and barrel.
“It’s almost a done deal,” Marcial said during the PBA Media Day at Centris Elements in Quezon City. “They’re just sorting out some financial details, the deed of sale and some nitty-gritty stuff.”
And the PBA boss is certain that Pureblends, which source said will use one of its brands that bear the Titan name, will be campaigning in the league’s 50th season, which kicks off on Oct. 5 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Pureblends reportedly bought the NorthPort franchise for P90 million, but the PBA opted to give itself more time to review the deal.
Pureblends’ ownership has already made itself involved in the team’s management, with company owner Bryan Calantoc even watching one of its recent tuneup games.
Calantoc begged off from fielding questions from reporters who approached him after a 98-all result between NorthPort and Phoenix, saying he doesn’t want to preempt the league.
Former Terrafirma coach Johnedel Cardel has already been hired to call the shots for the team.
The 50th PBA season will be the longest in history because of a long stretch where the league will pause to give way to Gilas Pilipinas’ preparations for, and participation in, two major tournaments.
And to fill that lull, the PBA plans to stage a sort of mini-tournament featuring two guest teams while the national squad competes in both the Fiba World Cup Qualifiers and the Nagoya Asian Games.
Marcial said the proposed competition could come during the period of late-August to the whole duration of September, while Gilas is away to play in the two major events that will be held weeks apart.
Gilas is scheduled to take part in the August 2026 window of the qualification, while the Asiad is slated from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 in the Japanese city where coach Tim Cone’s squad will try to retain the gold it won three years ago in China.
“We won’t be having games for about 40 days during the period, so we will try to maybe put up a mini-tournament featuring two guest teams,” Marcial said.
Marcial had previously said that the Macau Black Bears and an Indonesian club are interested in taking part as guest teams, though requests from foreign teams to play in the Philippine Cup were turned down by the league.
Cone had requested for a longer preparation time for both events in order for Gilas to be as competitive as possible in that period.
The 50th season will run until Dec. 2026, with the standard three-conference format starting with the centerpiece Philippine Cup.
To mark the golden anniversary, a homecoming has been set on the eve of the opener at Meralco Theatre, while the season curtain-raiser has the Leo Awards followed by a lone game, reportedly between Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia, at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Marcial said former personalities responsible for the success of the league are expected to grace the weekend affair.
