‘The more, the merrier,’ says Ramon Fernandez of regional basketball leagues

PSC commissioner Ramon Fernandez welcomed the presence of numerous regional basketball leagues, saying it would inspire the youth to become more active in sports. (Mon Fernandez Facebook page)
PSC commissioner Ramon Fernandez welcomed the presence of numerous regional basketball leagues, saying it would inspire the youth to become more active in sports. (Mon Fernandez Facebook page)

Philippine Sports Commissioner (PSC) commissioner and basketball legend Ramon “El Presidente” Fernandez said the presence of more regional basketball league is good for the country’s sporting scene.

The basketball great said the addition of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Cup to the local basketball scene is great since it gives aspiring players from the different regions another platform to aspire for outside of the Philippine Basketball Association.

"The more, the merrier," said Fernandez during his appearance in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday. "Mas mai-involve yung mga kabataan natin sa sports. Magiging healthy sila and some of them can pursue their studies through sports."

"Welcome 'yan. The more leagues, the better. Mas busy ang kabataan natin and it will keep themselves healthy and away from drugs and other vices," he added.

Aside from the VisMin Cup, basketball players from all over the country also have the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League and the National Basketball League.

"That's a very welcome news for us, especially for me," added Fernandez. "Every time I go to the provinces, I always encourage the LGUs, the leaders, and even the youth to get themselves in sports. You can never go wrong when you're in sports."

However, Fernandez also asked the different basketball leagues to learn from the mistakes of the last regional basketball league to gain tremendous success in the country—the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association—where he was the commissioner.

Despite the fanfare surrounding the league, its games and its players including Dondon Hontiveros, Rommel Adducul, Alex Compton and Willie Miller just to name a few, the league only lasted from 1998 to 2002.

"What they have to do is study and look at the NBA set-up and PBA set-up. Although they're two entirely different business models, they just have to look at that, yung organization kung paano na-set up para magpatuloy ang mga liga nila," Fernandez said. (JNP)

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