So I saw this photo on Facebook and I had to fact check its authenticity.
Alfrancis Chua founded Dark League Studios, an esports company. In some ways, he could see the company as one reason the PBA has an esports league. Chua can do other things in his spare time. I would think DLS came about as a stress buster due to all the things he has been doing in the PBA and Gilas Pilipinas.
However, there is something about this company.
The other founders are Bobby Rosales and AC Valdenor. The thing about these two is that Rosales is Terrafirma's Team Governor while Valdenor is Terrafirma's Team Manager.
We have said time and again that Terrafirma is part of the SMC faction. Because of the lopsided trades that more or less fuel the SMC teams' future, we can't help but cringe at their PBA existence. I know I have been positive about this trade but seeing how Terrafirma decimated their bench and how they handled the possible departure of unrestricted free agent Christian Standhardinger, it's evident that Team Dyip is torpedoing the season so they can clinch the top pick, so they can give it to their master.
And this is not the first time I have seen this.
A decade ago when Barako Bull was still in the PBA, I saw one of the SMC delivery vans have San Mig Coffee on the sides and Barako Bull energy drink on the back.
On one hand, I do believe that the SMC should lay off on Terrafirma and Northport. Ginebra, San Miguel, and Magnolia might be the crowd darlings, but competition is the league's lifeblood. If you combine all the teams that are part of the Phoenix Fuel Masters' lineage, then you'll know that the genealogy hasn't won a PBA championship since 2000. Before NLEX, Blackwater, and Terrafirma joined the league in 2014, Northport had been in the league two seasons prior. Including Converge, half of the PBA teams are titleless, with Meralco winning their first championship last season.
Look, the PBA esports league is okay, especially if the PBA players take part in the games. This will be a cool endeavor, especially during the break between conferences. If they want, they can ask the MVP group to power a venue, with Converge supplying the broadband coverage. I like how June Mar Fajardo is San Miguel's representative in the esports tournament because he has always been a gamer, based on his interactions with Marc Pingris.
I would love it if the teams compete for a bunch of games provided that there is always a PBA player in their squad. Hell, they can even use this opportunity to have celebrities as well as well-known pro players in their mix. I can imagine San Miguel drafting Kuku, Tims, Raven, DJ, Abed, and others for DOTA2 with June Mar as their carry. Hell, let's have the players play random Street Fighter tournaments.
Counterstrike? Let it be a thing PLEASE!!!!
However, it will be better if they just let Terrafirma and the other teams grow. The only reason why fans troop the semifinal games is because their favorite teams are playing. How can the "farm teams" have fans if none of us believe that they are in the PBA to win championships?