Pacquiao bankrolls Maharlika Pilipinas cage league
Aspiring ballers from the barangay level throughout the country get the chance to showcase their wares on the big stage as boxing icon Manny Pacquiao puts up the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League which fires off Sept. 23.
Featuring games from both the city or provincial and barangay levels in Luzon, the MPBL will focus on the grassroots and put the spotlight on aspirants and possibly give them their break in the future.
“This will support the youth who are interested in the sport. This will be a great help to them. From the grassroots, we are going to discover good players,” said Pacquiao in the event launch at The Aristocrat Restaurant in Malate yesterday.
Twelve teams from Quezon City, Marikina, San Juan, Makati, Parañaque, Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna and Batangas will figure in home-and-away matches for a shot at the Supremo Crown, the overall championship plum which will be handed to the winningest squad in five conferences in the league’s maiden season.
Manila and Malabon have also expressed their interest to join the new league.
These squads will serve as the mother clubs of their corresponding barangays which will also clash in their own division with a chance for the players to be picked and beef up the cities or provinces’ rosters at any point in the tournament.
“When I was still a kid in Mindanao, Manila was like Mars to me. I thought that it was impossible to reach. But because of basketball, I was able to go to Manila. I believe that just like me, these players who think that it will be hard for them to showcase their talents as basketball players could get their chance here,” said league operations head and ex-PBA player Zaldy Realubit.