PBA slams door on new teams up to 2016

TOKYO—The PBA’s board of governors ended its annual planning session here Wednesday after reaching  a consensus that expanding the current field of 12 teams will not happen within the next two years depending on how the two newest squads will perform in the same span.

Blackwater and KIA Motors were accepted before the start  of last season but the board hedged on the idea of adding more teams after both newcomers failed to make  it past the elimination round.

“It is actually dependent on how they (Blackwater and KIA) perform,” said president and CEO Chito Salud.

“We will accommodate expansion teams, maybe two, within the next three to five years, depending on the performances of the two we last accepted.”

Dependability of the results of the games is one of six possible reasons that the PBA is looking into for the dip at  the tills last season. Sales went down to 18 percent and attendance declined by 10 percent.

The 41st Season gets off the ground on Oct. 18 and the format will be the same save for the height limits in the two import-flavored conferences.

After bringing the tailend of the pack last season, KIA and Blackwater will be given bigger imports for the Commissioner’s Cup and the Governors’ Cup, but this is a privilege that will not be accorded them forever, said new chair Robert Non.

The Elite and the Carnival will have the first two picks in the coming Draft, but Blackwater already gave its first pick away.