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Metropolitan Basketball Association
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Metropolitan Basketball Association
The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), also shortened as Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran for five seasons from 1998 until 2002.
The MBA was established to rival the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The MBA contained between 8 and 15 teams which represented cities and provinces who played at home and away. Initially, the league was divided into two conferences: the Northern Conference for teams based in Luzon and the Southern Conference for teams based in Visayas and Mindanao. At the end of each season, the champions of each conference faced each other at the MBA National Finals to determine the league champion. Later, the MBA allowed companies to sponsor teams and attach their brand to the teams' names—and by the final season, used a three-conference format. The MBA's rules also differed slightly from the basic rules of basketball.
Each of the five seasons had a different champion: the Pampanga Dragons, Manila Metrostars, San Juan Knights, Batangas Blades, and Negros Slashers. The Negros Slashers had the most finals appearances, with four. The Northern Conference produced the most champions, with four, while the Southern Conference produced only one. A total of sixteen teams have competed in the MBA.
MBA games were broadcast on ABS-CBN Corporation's television networks from 1998 until 2001 when it moved to the state-run NBN-4 under the production of Silverstar Communications. The MBA folded in July 2002 due to high costs of maintaining the league and ABS-CBN's withdrawal of support.
The MBA played its first game on March 7, 1998, at the Don Narciso Ramos Sports Complex in Lingayen, Pangasinan. The MBA was widely viewed as broadcast giant ABS-CBN's attempt to undermine the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) after failing on its bid to acquire broadcasting rights for the 1998 season. Prior to the start of the MBA's inaugural season, the league had successfully poached PBA free agents for talent in order to compete.
Metroball allowed foreigners to play for their teams, not requiring Philippine passports of them, nor requiring those foreigners to have Filipino blood. All the league required was that these players be born in the Philippines.
As a direct result of this practice, the MBA and its foreign-born players began attracting attention away from the PBA, forcing the more-established league to escalate their own players' salaries and practically sidelining its rookie draft through a "direct hiring" process of foreign citizens with Filipino descent which the elder league approved in the 1998 off-season. This allowed PBA teams like the Mobiline Phone Pals and Tanduay Rhum Masters to negotiate directly with MBA players or prospects (like Asi Taulava and Sonny Alvarado) for their services.
The MBA folded on July 26, 2002, due to high expenses of funding a regional basketball league, and ABS-CBN withdrawing its funding for the league. In its immediate aftermath, the displaced players went to the semi-professional Philippine Basketball League en route to the PBA.
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Metropolitan Basketball Association
The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), also shortened as Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran for five seasons from 1998 until 2002.
The MBA was established to rival the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The MBA contained between 8 and 15 teams which represented cities and provinces who played at home and away. Initially, the league was divided into two conferences: the Northern Conference for teams based in Luzon and the Southern Conference for teams based in Visayas and Mindanao. At the end of each season, the champions of each conference faced each other at the MBA National Finals to determine the league champion. Later, the MBA allowed companies to sponsor teams and attach their brand to the teams' names—and by the final season, used a three-conference format. The MBA's rules also differed slightly from the basic rules of basketball.
Each of the five seasons had a different champion: the Pampanga Dragons, Manila Metrostars, San Juan Knights, Batangas Blades, and Negros Slashers. The Negros Slashers had the most finals appearances, with four. The Northern Conference produced the most champions, with four, while the Southern Conference produced only one. A total of sixteen teams have competed in the MBA.
MBA games were broadcast on ABS-CBN Corporation's television networks from 1998 until 2001 when it moved to the state-run NBN-4 under the production of Silverstar Communications. The MBA folded in July 2002 due to high costs of maintaining the league and ABS-CBN's withdrawal of support.
The MBA played its first game on March 7, 1998, at the Don Narciso Ramos Sports Complex in Lingayen, Pangasinan. The MBA was widely viewed as broadcast giant ABS-CBN's attempt to undermine the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) after failing on its bid to acquire broadcasting rights for the 1998 season. Prior to the start of the MBA's inaugural season, the league had successfully poached PBA free agents for talent in order to compete.
Metroball allowed foreigners to play for their teams, not requiring Philippine passports of them, nor requiring those foreigners to have Filipino blood. All the league required was that these players be born in the Philippines.
As a direct result of this practice, the MBA and its foreign-born players began attracting attention away from the PBA, forcing the more-established league to escalate their own players' salaries and practically sidelining its rookie draft through a "direct hiring" process of foreign citizens with Filipino descent which the elder league approved in the 1998 off-season. This allowed PBA teams like the Mobiline Phone Pals and Tanduay Rhum Masters to negotiate directly with MBA players or prospects (like Asi Taulava and Sonny Alvarado) for their services.
The MBA folded on July 26, 2002, due to high expenses of funding a regional basketball league, and ABS-CBN withdrawing its funding for the league. In its immediate aftermath, the displaced players went to the semi-professional Philippine Basketball League en route to the PBA.