The Philippines Basketball Association, on the heels of a successful Dubai showcase in May, appears to be set for a quick return in November that would bring with it the Manny Pacquiao circus.
The organisers for the last go-round, Clique Events, posted a flier on their Facebook page on Tuesday and tweeted the Philippine Cup – the first of the Filipo basketball season's three championship tournaments – would see a pair of games played at Al Nasr Sports Club in Dubai on November 6-7.
The announced teams were fan favourites Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Alaska Aces and, most importantly, Mahindra Enforcers – the 2014/15 expansion team headed by Pacquiao.
The boxing legend and Philippines national hero is among the team’s investors and has appeared on court with Enforcers as a player. He is now listed as their head coach.
The PBA itself has yet to confirm the matches, which would see Enforcers play Alaska Aces on Friday, November 6 and Barangay Ginebra play Aces on Saturday, November 7.
The PBA season is divided into three distinct round-robin cups, with three titles awarded yearly – San Miguel Beermen won last year’s Philippine Cup in a seven-game thriller over Aces. The final tournament, the Governor’s Cup, came to Dubai in May with Barangay Ginebra defeating Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in one match and Rain or Shine topping GlobalPort Batang Pier in the other. San Miguel eventually made it a title double for the season, again beating Aces in the final series.
In addition to the frenzy Pacquiao would inevitably stir up in Dubai, Barangay Ginebra are a wildly popular team featuring past PBA MVPs like Mark Caguioa and JayJay Helterbrand as well as current Gilas Pilipinas national team stars like LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar.
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