PBA: Willie Marcial says Bay Area Dragons return possible

FILE – Bay Area Dragons guard Myles Powell during Game 6 of the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—PBA commissioner Willie Marcial did not discount the possibility of the Bay Area Dragons making a return as early as next season.

The Hong Kong-based Dragons played as a guest team in last season’s Commissioner’s Cup where they lost to the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in the finals.

“Let’s see if we can get back Bay Area because we only have two conferences this season. Hopefully, it [talks] continues,” Marcial said on Noli Eala’s Power and Play radio program on Saturday.

“The concern here is if we can make an agreement with the team, if we can make amends with the processes and if they are okay with our conditions,” Marcial added.

One of the conditions is the Dragons will only be allowed to have one import.

Bay Area had a big advantage in the Commissioner’s Cup with Myles Powell and Andre Nicholson as their reinforcements.

“We’ll have to fix the imports, we can’t allow two for them,” Marcial said.

Marcial also said the Dragons making a return would be big for the league like the last time.

“Bay Area is a huge help [for the league]. What happened was like the Philippines vs China. Our countrymen rooted for Ginebra. If it wasn’t like that, we wouldn’t hit the 54,000 attendance count,” Marcial explained.

The Gin Kings beat the Dragons, 114-99, in Game 7 of the Commissioner’s Cup before a record crowd of 54,589 at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

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