KBL wants to partner with PBA

THE Korean Basketball League (KBL) has expressed interest to exchange players and establish a partnership with the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), according to commissioner Willie Marcial on Wednesday.

“They [KBL] want to establish a good relationship with us for the benefit of both professional leagues,” said Marcial, adding PBA chairman Ricky Vargas already wants a meeting with their Korean counterparts.

“The KBL wrote us last month expressing [their desire for] a good relationship and we replied,” Marcial said. “They want exchange of players and cooperation. They really want to talk.”

Marcial said it’s a welcome development for the PBA which has long gone global by playing games during the pre-pandemic years in Dubai, Hongkong, Singapore and Indonesia.

PBA vice chairman Bobby Rosales said the KBL’S desire to forge a partnership “shows that the Koreans are respecting their Asian neighbors’ basketball leagues.”

“That’s a welcome development in the Asian region, that’s a good initiative from the KBL,” Rosales of Terrafirma said. It means they respect the other pro leagues like us,” said Rosales, Terrafirma’s representative to the PBA board. “But it’s going to be a long term process especially because we’re still in a pandemic.”

Terrafirma team manager Ronald Tubid, meanwhile, confirmed that Filipino-american Matt Rosser-ganuelas has opted to test the free agency market by declining their two-year offer.

Top pick Roosevelt Adams, according to Rosales, also declined Terrafirma’s two-year offer while Andreas Cahilig’s contract is still under negotiation.