By REYNALD MAGALLON
A witness to the league’s formative years, the PBA is coming back to its old stomping ground – the Rizal Memorial Coliseum – an age-old venue that once housed Asia’s oldest professional basketball league.
On Saturday, March 16, after over 40 years, the league is playing once more in the historic venue with the clash between early tournament surprises Terrafirma and Blackwater and the debut of Magnolia against Converge in the 2024 Philippine Cup serving as a celebration of sorts for PBA’s homecoming at RMC.
The Bossing and the Dyip, two teams which went to a hot start in the conference but are now looking to bounce back from defeats, tangle in the curtain raiser at 3 p.m. before the interesting nightcap between the Hotshots and the FiberXers commence at 6:15 p.m.
The doubleheader will be the first pair of games to be played in the iconic stadium since the early 1980’s. It was part of the league’s effort to trace its old roots as they are also scheduled to play in the neighboring Ninoy Aquino Stadium during the course of the all-Filipino conference.
The change of environment is what Converge hopes to be the change needed for the team to turn their fortunes around after continuing to struggle in the season, dropping all of its four games so far in the conference.
Even more challenging for the FiberXers is that they have to do it against the Hotshots, one of the league powerhouses and fresh off a bridesmaid finish in the 2023-’24 Commissioner’s Cup.
Magnolia should be raring to kick start its bid for a championship after falling short of ending a five-year title drought last conference. Of course, out to lead the redemption tour are big guns Paul Lee, Calvin Abueva, Mark Barroca and Jio Jalalon.
Converge, though, despite their record, still boasts quality players in Justin Arana and guard Alec Stockton who has been having a breakout performance so far for the team.
In the opening game, Blackwater and Terrafirma are looking to immediately stop the bleeding that could put their respective impressive starts to waste.
The Bossing absorbed their first defeat against the NLEX Road Warriors following a 3-0 start and they are hoping to immediately get back on track and prevent the same collapse they had last conference where they went on to lose all of their remaining games.
The Dyip, on the other hand, are currently on a two-game slide after opening the conference with two wins and they are hoping the possible return of top rookie Stephen Holt from a back injury could spell the difference this time around.
