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Games and Entertainment Board Chairman Abraham Mitra believes that the inaugural celebration of the 2021 East Asian Super League round trip tournament next year is an opportunity for Filipino players to learn from the best players in Asia.
“We are very happy that a proposal like this has come in,” Mitra said during EASL’s virtual press conference on Monday. “We have great Filipino superstars in the PBA, but we hope to have fun, educate ourselves and learn from players from the rest of Asia.”
The EASL Home and Away League will feature the best professional teams from Greater China, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines. The tournament will feature a total of eight teams divided into two groups that will play since October against the EASL headed by its CEO Matt Beyer, who requested permission from the country’s professional sports regulatory board to bring the games to the Philippines.
And while COVID-19 has shown no signs of slowing down in the country, Mitra expressed optimism that several professional sports leagues are doing their fair share to ensure safety protocols are strictly adhered to.
“I’m sure the leagues will follow (security protocols) and I’m sure they don’t want to damage their reputation or harm the entire industry,” Mitra said, obviously referring to the PBA, which if given the green light by the IATF , will resume the season on October 9 through its own bubble in Clark, Pampanga.
“I’m happy with the responses from the different leagues because they themselves are very, very careful about self-regulation and maybe there are already some improvements in what the NBA is doing. I think Filipino ingenuity could come in and we could try to improve and adapt to the local situation “.
Beneficial for PBA
Meanwhile, Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy, who serves as EASL’s business development and consultant in the Philippines, is convinced that the PBA will greatly benefit from being a part of the 2021 roundtrip tournament.
Sy emphasized that he experienced firsthand how EASL ran its own leagues when Blackwater joined the Super 8 and Terrific 12 in recent years.
“I learned a lot from the EASL the last two we joined, not just in basketball itself, but also with the way EASL ran its tournament, its administration and as a whole,” Sy said. “This is a good experience also for the PBA to learn from EASL and the way they run the business and the overall look. So it is definitely a mutual benefit not only for basketball itself, but also for management as an organization. complete.
In the grand scheme of things, Sy feels that joining the back-and-forth competitions will also help Gilas Pilipinas in his lead up to the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which the Philippines will co-sponsor with Japan and Indonesia.
“We are trying our best to give EASL the best support. But this benefits not only EASL but also the Filipino basketball fans and the PBA from witnessing the best of basketball here in Asia,” shared Sy.
“I feel that if we only play in FIBA (tournaments), it is not enough. But with the arrival of the EASL games, it will increase our opportunities, our experience and knowledge because we will host the FIBA World Cup 2023 here in Manila, Tokyo. And Jakarta. So this would be a perfect practice range for our Filipino team to do well in 2023. “
