Reminiscing the MBA

[j-tech31]

i like a 2 o combination nila matt mitchell,don2x hontiveros , mike manigo,rob wainright,arnold gamboa kay lig on gud 2 cla a 2.g pildi lang cla sa manila metro star pag finals.

[--Makoy--]

mga favorite players nako sa MBA sa una

hontiveros
mitchell
biboy simon
alex copton (except sa finals vs cebu gems)
eddie laure
willie miller
mike garcia

[baju83]

cge man ug saway sila sa pba.. pareho sa comercial nila na "its not your grandfathers basketball game".. da, nawala hinoon..

[--Makoy--]

mba was too ambitious. bag-o pa gani, grande na kaayo, and considering the fact that their level of play was below the pba's.. though the format was good, bug-at lang kaayo sa bulsa

[baju83]

btaw.. mura man pud to try out tanan ilang league kay kung naa ma discover na maayo offeran daun sa pba ug daku na sweldo hehehe...

[mike_iansat]

di sila ka afford..

[yelkrebb]

di ba mendoza was a part of the original cebu gems? kadtong pinakafirst team jud.. i remember sila mike manigo pa to nga time. si hontiveros murag second season na man to nisulod

Hontiveros is part of the original line-up of Cebu Gems. But he get injured in their first game againts Manila Metrostar.

[yelkrebb]

di ba mendoza was a part of the original cebu gems? kadtong pinakafirst team jud.. i remember sila mike manigo pa to nga time. si hontiveros murag second season na man to nisulod

Hontiveros is part of the original line-up of Cebu Gems. But he get injured in their first game againts Manila Metrostar.

[--Makoy--]

Hontiveros is part of the original line-up of Cebu Gems. But he get injured in their first game againts Manila Metrostar.

suko man ka..hehe.. dali ra ba makapatay ang high blood

[billabong]

Here's something I picked up from Quinito Henson's Sporting Chance:

Thanks for the memories
SPORTING CHANCE by Joaquin M. Henson
Publish Date: [Sunday, July 28, 2002]

The game’s over for the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA). In its fifth year of operations, the MBA is closing shop. League owners, however, are leaving the door open for a comeback but that’s unlikely. If the MBA doesn’t shut down completely, expect players, coaches, and whoever else with live contracts to go to court and demand what is due them.

It’s no secret that the MBA hasn’t paid out salaries since April. Management promises to make good on back wages but with an empty well, that’s like spitting in the wind. The MBA owes millions to NBN-4 and the TV production company Silverstar. There are other huge payables staring the owners in the face.

A self-styled MBA spokesman says the league was a business failure. That’s an understatement. He should’ve added that management played a major role in bringing down the league. It wasn’t just a business failure – it was also a lamentable case of gross mismanagement.

But for all of the MBA’s shortcomings, it will forever be remembered as a league that dared to be different. That is the MBA’s legacy and nobody can take that away from it. No other league in the world experimented with such innovations as the Blitz-3 or the option to shoot a single free throw from the three-point arc instead of two foul shots from the 15-foot line. The MBA reduced the limit to cross the timeline from 10 to eight before the National Basketball Association (NBA) adopted the same rule last season.

It was a league that never backed down from lending players to represent the country in international competitions. And it was a league that developed players for elevation to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Over 30 MBA veterans are now earning big bucks in the PBA. Two ex-MBA players are in coach Joseph Uichico’s Fighting 15 preparing for the Asian Games – Rudy Hatfield and Dondon Hontiveros. Among the MBA veterans in PBA rosters are Willie Miller, Ibet Demape, Wynne Arboleda, Dorian Pena, Rob Duat, Ato Morano, Dale Singson, Don Camaso, Ronald Magtulis, Joey Mente, Omanzie Rodriguez, and Chris Calaguio.

What led to the MBA’s downfall? Consider these 10 major reasons.

• Dependence on a single group for survival. It was good while it lasted but ABS-CBN, which subsidized the MBA for four years, has its own priorities and basketball surely isn’t among them. Without ABS-CBN’s support, the MBA was left to fend for itself – something it obviously wasn’t ready to do. ABS-CBN gave the MBA a security blanket. Without ABS-CBN, the MBA lost that blanket and shivered in the cold. ABS-CBN not only delivered air time and paid for salaries of marquee players but it also owned several franchises. When ABS-CBN pulled out, the MBA collapsed.

• Goal to kill the PBA. At its inception, the MBA sought to displace the PBA as the country’s premier pro league. It dangled huge salaries to lure top PBA stars to take the plunge. Vince Hizon, for instance, was offered an unimaginable, monstrous three-year salary to jump ship and he did – who wouldn’t? The problem was Hizon wound up not getting paid. Paying astronomical salaries to showcase marquee players backfired in the end. The MBA just couldn’t afford the overhead.

• Illusions of grandeur. Management – proud and ambitious – wouldn’t step down from its glass tower. League owners refused to face reality and trumpeting the "success" of the regional concept, insisted the home-and-away formula was the best thing that ever happened to Philippine basketball. Unfortunately, management didn’t realize the MBA isn’t the NBA.

• Too many cooks. You couldn’t figure out who was really in charge. In the press, several MBA geniuses spoke out. MBA commissioner Chito Loyzaga had to put a gag on a league owner who talked out of turn during negotiations for some teams to join the Philippine Basketball League (PBL).

• Insensitive to players and coaches. MBA officials – protecting their own vested interests – didn’t back up players in cases of dispute. Hizon was abandoned in his fight against a franchise owner who is closely related to the MBA powers. Romel Adducul cried when the MBA refused to allow him to join the PBA draft early this year. Robert Sison was kicked out of a coaching job. And what about the players, coaches, and utility boys who are still unpaid? If the league doesn’t look after its own players, who will? Too bad the MBA failed to answer its conscience call.

• Invasion of Fil-shams. The MBA did away with the requirement of Fil-Ams obtaining Department of Justice (DOJ) clearance. All they had to submit was a work permit from the Department of Labor and Employment. But starting this season, the MBA imposed the DOJ requirement – which meant a virtual amnesty for holdovers because the rule isn’t retroactive. That’s why Chris Clay wound up as an import in the PBA.

• Mismanaged regional concept. Bringing the games to fans in the provinces was a step in the right direction but at what cost? When the MBA realized it had to go commercial for survival, the league was already in its death throes. It was too late to refuel – the car had run out of gas in the middle of a desert.

• No continuity for commissioner. In less than five full seasons, the MBA rotated four commissioners – Ramon Fernandez, Ogie Narvasa, Butch Antonio and Loyzaga. The job was like a hot seat. Nobody could stand the heat for too long. League owners dictated to the commissioner who was powerless against the top honchos. Loyzaga tried to institute reforms this season but ran out of time. The hole had become too big to crawl out of.

• Entry of politicians. The MBA allowed itself to be exploited by politicians who weren’t in the league for the long haul. With politicians controlling franchises, you knew basketball wasn’t the only thing on their mind.

• Lack of transparency. It was never clear who owned which MBA franchises. Were league officials protecting the interests of favored teams? What happened to the Manila Metrostars – what were the implications of the merger with the Batangas Blades on the league owners? Who really owns the Negros Slashers and the Davao Eagles?

League mouthpieces are spreading the word that the MBA will be back with a bang next year. There is talk of turning amateur and hooking up with the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP). There is also talk of at least two MBA teams joining the PBL – if that happens, only three MBA veterans per club will be allowed to revert to amateur. Is there no end to the charade?