THERE’S no doubt that the most loved team from Cebu was the Cebu Gems of the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association. Their followers were so strong and so rabid that there were some times games were interrupted because fans showed their displeasure by showing how good they were at throwing coins or water bottles on the pitch.
No other team can come close to that. I think there were some attempts at recreating that in the defunct regional leagues like the Liga Pilipinas and MVBL but they never came close. There was just something different in how the Cebu Gems gained the support of the Cebuano fans.
When Manny Pacquiao launched the community-based Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, I sort of expected that this was going to be the next big thing in Philippine basketball and that a Cebu team would be included in the future. I fell short in my estimate in both.
The MPBL has recaptured the magic of the MBA, playing to packed stadiums because let’s face it, community identity is strong in Philippine basketball, judging by how a whole town or region feels proud whenever one of their own makes the PBA. With FB live telecasts coupled with a broadcast partner, support and awareness for the league has grown. Heck, even in a gathering of football dads, talk about the league pops up.
Why?
Because of one intriguing news, the return of the Cebu Gems.
What I expected to happen in the future is going to happen now as the Cebu Gems has been reported to be one of the expansion teams in the second conference of the league this June. There is reportedly going to be another Cebu-based team and rumors point out to the Landmasters that will be based up North, but in the Fox Sports report about the expansion teams that I’ve read, only the Cebu Gems were listed.
There was no other update, no news of who will be in charge and where it will be based. I asked those who have contacts with the basketball community and they don’t know anything concrete, too. The league has reportedly assigned Al Solis and Bonel Balingit to be the point person in its expansion here, and there’s going to be a meeting this Friday to tackle the Cebu team’s inclusion in the league, which has expanded to 20 teams this conference.
Whether the Cebu Gems will be one of them, we will know in the next few days. What we do know for sure, Cebu’s entry in the MPBL will change our basketball landscape.