The PBA Developmental League, or PBA D-League, is the
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
's official
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
organization.
History
The PBA D-League was conceptualized after the collapse of the proposed merger between the
Philippine Basketball League
The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars.
History
The PBL was formed on Ma ...
(PBL) and
Liga Pilipinas
Liga Pilipinas was a regional basketball league in the Philippines. It was sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the country's national basketball federation, and owned by Pinoy Basketbol, Inc.
History
The National Basketball Con ...
after the staging of the ''Tournament of the Philippines'' which was composed by PBL and Liga Pilipinas teams. PBA Commissioner
Chito Salud
Angelico Tiu Salud (born June 17, 1962), better known as Chito Salud, is a Filipino lawyer and sports executive who currently serves as team governor of the Converge Fiber Xers in PBA. He was the first president and CEO of the Philippine Basketb ...
proposed the formation of a PBA D-League, which will fill the void left by the PBL. On January 25, 2011, the PBA Board of Governors approved the proposal.
The maiden tournament, named "
Foundation Cup" began on March 12, 2011 at the
Filoil Flying V Arena
The Filoil EcoOil Centre, formerly Filoil Flying V Centre, Filoil Flying V Arena and The Arena in San Juan, also known as the Entertainment and Recreational Arena of the People (initials taken after former mayor and president Joseph Estrada's nic ...
in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
. The tournament composed of 13 teams, with five teams (Junior Powerade, NLEX, Maynilad, Freego and Cafe France) having affiliation with existing PBA teams. Four teams (Cobra Energy Drink, Agri-Nature Inc./FCA, Pharex, and Cafe France) from the
Philippine Basketball League
The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars.
History
The PBL was formed on Ma ...
filed for application in the PBA D-League, when they failed to acquire a sixth team in order to smoothly run the league. The NLEX Road Warriors became the champions of the tournament, winning two games to none against the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems.
The second tournament, dubbed as the "Aspirant's Cup" began on October 20. Four teams (Maynilad, Junior Powerade, Max Bond and Pharex) did not join the tournament. However, two new teams (Boracay Rum and Informatics) made their debut in the D-League.
The D-League has held its own
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
since the
2013–14 PBA season
The 2013–14 PBA season was the 39th season of the Philippine Basketball Association. The season formally opened on November 17, 2013, and finished on July 9, 2014. The league continued to use the three-conference format, starting with the Phil ...
.
In August 2015, the PBA approved plans for a nationwide D-League and a Women's D-League that will open soon. From 2016, the men's competition was first to be held in three separate, simultaneous tournaments, first in Luzon and later in the Visayas and Mindanao. The three regional champions would join the national championship round which would be joined by Metro Manila teams. However the plan was never fully realized with the Northern Luzon tournament never finished and the Visayas tournament cancelled.
The 2020 season was indefinitely postponed in March 2020 with only some games of the Aspirants Cup played before the season was cancelled altogether in September 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The league has not held games as of 2021. The resumption of the D-League has been hampered by the fact that league heavily relies on school-based teams.
Teams
Teams in the PBA D-League had to pay a participating fee either on a per conference or per season basis. Unlike the PBA, the number of participating teams may vary per conference.
Current teams
The following are the participating teams of the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup:
Former teams
List of champions
See also
*
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
*
PBA Rush
PBA Rush is a 24/7 exclusive channel of Cignal, which has been currently airing games of the Philippine Basketball Association. The channel is patterned after NBA TV and was launched on July 5, 2016. The 3-year partnership agreement between Cig ...
*
Basketball in the Philippines
Basketball is the most popular sport in the Philippines, played on both the amateur and professional levels.
History
Basketball was introduced in the Philippines during the American colonial period with the first American teachers teaching th ...
*
List of developmental and minor sports leagues
This is a list of developmental and minor sports leagues, two concepts which are largely restricted to North American sports. Note that this does not include teams in leagues that include promotion and relegation.
North America
Baseball
* Minor ...
References
External links
Official Website
{{Sports in the Philippines
2011 establishments in the Philippines
Sports leagues established in 2011
Basketball leagues in the Philippines
Professional sports leagues in the Philippines