The PBA board has made its rules a little bit more flexible and adaptable to the changing and current times by allowing Filipino-Foreign players to play in the league with only a Philippine passport in their possession.
This new rule will give more Filipino-Foreigners opportunities to strut their wares in the 46 year old league.
The PBA also increased the number of Filipino-Foreign players on each PBA franchise from 5 to 7. We think the PBA increased the number of Filipino-Foreign players is to increase scoring, improve the quality of play and the quality of the games, and to improve ratings and increase viewership.
In our humble opinion, 6 would’ve been just right. This writer thinks 7 may be a tad bit too much as there’ll be only a total of 60 slots for homegrown Filipino players to compete for.
As Covid-19 cases continue to go down, we will see in a few months if these rule changes are a little too late. Perhaps not, because of the yearly deluge of Filipino-Foreigners who want to showcase their talent on our shores and show that they belong.
Fortunately for the PBA, there have been no objections or violent reactions from nationalists and purists who may opine that the increased number of Filipino-Foreigners gives less chances and opportunities for Filipino homegrown talent to flourish.
This development will force homegrown players to work harder on their games. Filipino homegrown players’ improved games combined with Filipino-Foreign players who work just as hard on their games, if not harder than their homegrown counterparts, will bring in an abundance of higher shooting percentages across the league and more athletic highlight reels like dunks, incredible shots, logo distance threes, spectacular moves and game altering blocks.
Will these rule changes bring parity to the league? We hope it will, sooner rather than later. #FilipinoForeignPlayers #PBA #PhilippineBasketballAssociation #PhilippineBasketball
