NLEX, Blackwater get first look on proposed rule changes in PBA ‘On Tour’

FILE – NLEX guard Kevin Alas during a game against Blackwater. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—NLEX and Blackwater will be given the first chance to test proposed rule changes that the Philippine Basketball Association is going to be implemented for its “On Tour” exhibition series that tips off Sunday in Caloocan City.

Perhaps the intriguing part of the 5 p.m. game at Caloocan Sports Complex is the long-coveted challenge system that allows teams the option to seek for a reversal of calls through a video review.

That is among the many experiments seen during the two-month series staged by the league to make up for the long break due to the country’s preparations for the Fiba World Cup.

Teams are likely to do something different from a normal PBA game, in terms of how coaches shuffle their lineups and how the minutes are distributed.

“To be honest I don’t know what to expect as we don’t know how will other teams approach this ‘On Tour.’” said NLEX guard Kevin Alas.

“But for our case, we practiced for a long time and we prepared hard as preparing for a regular season game,” he added.

Alas and the Road Warriors prepared for the series while management dealt with the situation surrounding the “Ligang Labas” participation of JR Quinahan, who was eventually terminated.

NLEX also witnessed its incoming sophomore Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser perform well in Gilas Pilipinas’ hard-fought run to the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games gold, with the series being a good opportunity for the energetic big man to further develop himself before the start of the 48th season in October.

Meanwhile, Blackwater won’t be having new coach Jeffrey Cariaso for the early phase of the series due to some commitments in the United States.

Assistant coach Joe Silva was tapped to help the team integrate itself into the things Cariaso wants to run.

RELATED STORIES