Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League taps ABS-CBN for a broadcast deal

Witnessing the MPBL-ABSCBN deal: (Standing) MPBL Head of Operations Zaldy Realubit, MPBL Assistant Commissioner Satar Macantal, S+A Channel Head Vince Rodriguez, MPBL Team Coordinator Emmerson Oreta
(Seated) MPBL Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes, ALV Events International Chairman Arnold Vegafria, ABS-CBN Sports head Dino Laurena, ABS-CBN CFO Aldrin Cerrado

The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is set to have a home on television.

Manny Pacquiao's start-up basketball league entered into an agreement with ABS-CBN Sports to have its games shown on S+A last week. Witnessing the agreement are top MPBL officials like League Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes, Head of Operations Zaldy Realubit, Assistant Commissioner Satar Macantal, and Team Coordinator Emmerson Oreta, while on the ABS-CBN side are Sports head Dino Laurena, S+A Channel Head Vince Rodriguez, and CFO Aldrin Cerrado. Also present in the proceedings is ALV Events International Chairman Arnold Vegafria.

The league will be kicking off on January 25 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum. The Opening Ceremony and the games slated on that day will be shown LIVE on S+A and S+A HD, with subsequent Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night telecasts between 7-11pm.

According to Vegafria, who also serves as the MPBL's overall head, "Through Senator Manny Pacquiao's vision, we have a basketball league that truly reaches the grassroots level. Finally, Filipinos from all walks of life who have the talent and passion for the game will be able to show their mettle in the hardcourt. We are thankful for I hope advertisers and basketball fans will support this. This is another platform where Pinoys can find their potential basketball heroes." He adds that league will not be possible without the vision and passion of Senator Manny Pacquiao, setting up this novel project "to give chance to athletes that have the capacity but never had the chance to play in the other leagues."

For Laurena, this is a reflection of the continued commitment of ABS-CBN for grassroots development. He shares, "It was very natural for us to get together because of our shared vision for Philippines sports and our desire to support Filipino athletes in the grassroots level. Serendipitously, we are celebrating the anniversary of the MBA (Metropolitan Basketball Association) this year, which had the same concept and objective."

The MPBL aims to give grassroots athletes, as well as undrafted or untapped basketball players a venue to showcase their skills and continue to pursue their basketball dreams. Much like the MBA, the teams represent either a municipality, city, or province, and will have a home-and-away format. The league currently has ten teams strewn all across Metro Manila and Luzon, although there are plans for the league to expand to Visayas and Mindanao in the future.

To highlight that homegrown objective, Duremdes highlighted a mandate that teams have to roster at least three players that are truly homegrown to their respective areas. He adds, "The advantage of this is really the pride of the players playing for their respective provinces and cities. We also believe that it will be more exciting because of the support of the fans for their teams. In the preseason, we can really see that they are excited as they also want to see their home players succeed."

Oreta shares that the league's long-term goal is to have all-homegrown players featured on all the teams. In fact, he adds, the MPBL's preseason champions, the Bulacan Kuyas, is comprised with such a roster.

To encourage fans to check out the opening at The Big Dome, Vegafria revealed that they are going to give away a car and ten motorbikes on that day.