W Gameplay had this cool thought about the PBA's lack of attendance.
Farm teams are always rebuilding and losing their stars to top teams. Kids are disregarding the league for greener international pastures. Shitty trades and the inability of the league to just grow up.
Honestly, the PBA is like an almost 50-something baby.
First of all, the PBA and the fans of the PBA need to lighten up on the international players. If the Euroleague is losing its players to the NBA, then the PBA has every right to lose its players to bigger leagues.
However, with this in mind, it's important for the PBA to entice the league to potential shareholders. The problem with the PBA is that they became too "sure" that they are the better league. Yes, they are still the better basketball league in the Philippines and probably in Southeast Asia. With that said, ever since the Chinese Basketball Association happened, its development has stalled. I thought they should have been lenient at the peak of the Filipino American influx of the late 90s and early 2000s. I know this is also the reason why the league's popularity waned but it could have given the league a better picture of how to deal with international events. Sure, there were a lot of Fil-Shams but we could have given residents like Alex Compton, Chris Clay, Kirk Long, Sam Ekwe, Sudan Daniel, Karim Abdul, Ola Adeogun, Ben Mbala, and others a pass.
But hey, if you think this idea sucks, maybe this is going to be better?
One idea the PBA kind of snubbed is the nationwide approach of their teams. As stated by W Gameplay, most of the teams have no budget and zero to few fans. Let's have the SMC and MVP teams occupy Metro Manila and the rest of the neighboring provinces. MVP can have NCR-North and the provinces near NLEX while SMC can have NCR-South and the provinces near SLEX. If they want four Manila teams, fine.
However...
This is going to work well for the other squads.
Just like in the MPBL, the city government is not going to let their teams suck. Big-time basketball hotbeds like Cebu, Negros, and Davao can have their squads. If you put teams like Rain or Shine, Blackwater, Phoenix, Converge, Terrafirma, and Northport, they are going to have a worthy fanbase. If a team still wants to play in the north, then let them have Rizal and other places with cult-like draws. And if a team needs funds or is looking for a way out, a city government can have multiple sponsors just like what is happening in the NBA.
I thought the PBA missed the chance to go "Thanos" on their provisions during the height of the pandemic. The MPBL introduced legs or side tourneys while instead of bolstering their trips to the provinces, the league restricted their reach.
Manila is still the center of all things important in the Philippines, but not in the PBA.
The UAAP and NCAA teams have their own fanbase and just because a player played for a fan's alma mater, that doesn't mean that he would root for that team. And it's also the same deal for players moving to different teams. Just because James Yap moved to Rain or Shine, that does not mean that the Magnolia fans are going with him.
The PBA had the right idea of taking their all-star weekends to the provinces and especially with the pandemic, it's better for them to take their talents to other provinces. Sure, this home and away format (or legs, so it won't be that expensive), will take the players away from their families... but in some ways, this would justify their million-dollar contracts. If an MPBL player can do this, then why can't a PBA star?
And also, just let the D-League teams join the PBA if they are just going to let the other teams rot. I know the teams of the 80s are volatile (to the point of only having five teams) but if some teams are underachieving, then let's have teams that could overachieve. In the other leagues, we still have the likes of Mighty Sports, Cocolife, Tanduay, Zark's, Marinerong Pilipino, Wang's, Go For Gold, Pioneer Elastoseal, and even Chooks-To-Go.
If the PBA can have foreign guest teams, then let these teams on a trial basis.
And while yes, these teams could either mess up in the league with their inferior squads and shady management dealings but at least it would give oomph to an otherwise underperforming league.
Say what you will about their rosters but if a team of their caliber could have these many patrons... why can't a souped-up PBA squad?
It's easier for me to write about PBA league history because I always thought the PBA had its best decade during the 1990s. Sure, teams like Alaska and in some ways San Miguel (technically their grand slam was in 1989 and their almost-grand slams were in 2000 and 2001) but we also had the likes of Purefoods, Shell, and Sunkist win multiple titles. Also, while Ginebra had only one title and Sta. Lucia went title-less back then, you can't discount their lineups with Ginebra rebuilding their never-say-die mantra during the Marlou Aquino days and Sta. Lucia had multiple third-place finishes during the Jun Limpot and Dennis Espino era. And the other team, Pepsi, may have a so-so stint in the early 90s... they went full throttle as the Mobiline Phone Pals - which became the precursor of the current incarnation of TNT Tropang Giga.
At the last conference, we had this thing of Blackwater becoming a rising force and before the start of the conference, we saw the trade that sent Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser to the NLEX Road Warriors. Now while I don't think BGR is that valuable to Blackwater since he came midway in the Philippine Cup and the losses started to pile up for the Bossings upon his entry, it's odd to see the top pick being sent to another team because the idea of a top pick is to make him the franchise player. Even back when Nonoy Baclao, Rey Guevarra, and Rabeh Al-Hussaini were traded to San Miguel for Danny Seigle, Dondon Hontiveros, Dorian Pena, and Paul Artadi, I thought it was odd for an upstart squad to trade their assets for injury-prone veterans.
A franchise player could give a team a fanbase and it's best for PBA's business to have a balanced league. This is why Matthew Wright and Roosevelt Adams chose to play elsewhere. Yes, they are treated as team superstars but they also want the opportunity to win championships.
The guest teams will not do anything to bolster the league because we already have players going overseas as imports. Not unless the teams they are going to send in have the likes of Kiefer Ravena, Thirdy Ravena, Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto, or a top import like... Andray Blatche or Marcus Douthit (during the height of their careers), the fans will just coast on these teams and will just rant negatively if they win the title or just suck in their stint.
Regardless, maybe the case of the PBA is unsolvable now. No, the PBA will not die but unless they get some sort of divine intervention and get a much-needed kick, the league is probably going to stay in its current state... and this is not bad, in some ways.
In some ways...
Ugh.