NOT OUR PROBLEM?

The Abra Weavers are busy preparing for their first EASL season.

But in preparation for the upcoming 2025-26 EASL season, what exactly did the Abra Weavers really prepare for?

Because from what PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said in a SPIN.PH article, it feels like their stint is a trap.

For years, the EASL's existence has bothered me. I know it's a tournament between the best teams in East Asia (and the Philippines), but they also play with a maximum of four imports. There are two non-Asian imports, a naturalized player, and an Asian import.

I don't know if I sound racist for saying this, but aside from geography, how is it an East Asian league if more than half of the five players on the floor are hired guns? And don't "at" me with the whole "competitiveness" shtick. We all know how a bad import would ruin a team's chances. I mean, just look at San Miguel every time the PBA Commissioner's Cup rolled in.

But this time, you need to watch out for whether your two imports jive with each other, and you also need to watch out for whether these imports jive with the Asian import, the naturalized player, and the rest of the team. Because here's the thing: two dominant alphas would likely result in backstage politics.

Even if they are friends in real life, who would you rather take the last shot if you're a Meralco Bolts fan: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson or Justin Brownlee?

If each PBA team had four imports each, I doubt that would put asses in seats. I know it's fun to see Gilas Pilipinas win, but most of our memorable moments happened when the locals took over. In the Gilas Pilipinas versus Korea match in 2013, Marcus Douthit got injured, and our boys did whatever they could to defeat Korea and earn the right to play in the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

And why on earth would you want to pay four imports for fewer than 15 games?

I don't really care about past PBA participations in the EASL, but all I know is that last season, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson suffered an ACL injury while playing in it, and it could have been one of the reasons why Justin Brownlee is messed up at the moment.

Meralco also represented the PBA in the tournament because San Miguel and Ginebra didn't want to.

And remember when there was a time when the Blackwater Bossing had an EASL stint?

As of this writing, Abra has tapped Malick Diouf as their naturalized player, former Rain or Shine import Jaylen Johnson, and current Jordanian national team mainstay Freddy Ibrahim as their reinforcements.

If you are a die-hard Abra Weavers fan, I get that you're going to be excited about this since most of the EASL games in the country are played in the north.

But if you aren't, it would probably spark little to no interest, especially if you rationalize the value of an EASL trophy.

I mean, what exactly does a team gain when they win the EASL?

Bragging rights?

Only bragging rights?

Well, if the PBA has a long offseason, then this is good and all, competing with the best of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

But when the top teams beg off and, apparently, don't get the monetary gain that's promised, that's a different story.

Again, Willie Marcial basically said the only way for the PBA to go back to the EASL is if they get compensated.

And if the tournament becomes a hindrance rather than a reward, then I get why Marcial would rather concentrate on other matters.

And it's not like the PBA is sending their champions to play here. And unlike the KBL, B.League, P.League, and the other participating leagues, if it's not getting enough traction in the country you're participating in, then what's the point of even trying?

The teams they are facing are all playing for pride and honor as East Asians, which is why they bring their best players there.

For a Southeast Asian team like a random PBA team, the only way to gain something from this is if they want to stick it to the rest of the competition.

Just that.

But here's the more important thing. The PBA plays three conferences in a season. Even if you trim it down to two, it's still being held in the middle of the EASL season. And I know the other teams have the same problem, but the PBA is also playing its All-Filipino Conference around that time.

And even if you adjust the import-based tournament to October, the PBA only plays with one import. Again, it feels like a distraction from the local title and an additional expense, with nothing to show afterward except for bragging rights.

If the MPBL gets dibs on the tournament from here on out, then it's good for the league. However, what happens if the MPBL champion doesn't have the on-court resources on top of the financing?

And here's the other problem: the EASL runs smack into the MPBL and the PBA's calendar year.

Because of the events that transpired in the 2025 PBA Draft, meaning the PBA has had enough with its teams playing the conferences sans their desired players because some of their rookies are still playing in the college leagues and the MPBL, they delayed their draft to January 2027 so the incoming rookies wouldn't have existing contracts when they get drafted.

At the moment, the Abra Weavers have the likes of DJ Fenner, Kascius Small-Martin, Jake Figeroa, Drex Delos Reyes, Tucker Molina, Raven Gonzales, and JD Cagulangan, who is under contract but has yet to play this season due to injury. Moreover, Dave Ildefonso has already committed to play for the Converge FiberXers after the 2026 MPBL season.

So does this mean either these players would delay applying for the 2027 PBA Draft, or the PBA would adjust its ruling to help the MPBL? How about the teams that drafted them? Are they okay with playing or preparing for the upcoming PBA conference without them?

I mean, this works well for an MPBL team with limited offensive firepower because they would surely rely on their imports to make sense of things. But on paper, they might look for fighting pieces from the other MPBL teams, similar to what the Macau Giant Pandas did in the PBA this season.

And oh, that's the other thing the PBA's association with the EASL did: introducing us to the ragtag Macau squad.

Also, if you think it's bad that our all-PBA squad was devastated by China in the Asian Games, then what about a team comprised of PBA Draft applicants and PBA free agents? I mean, the EASL may not be as grand as the Asian Games, but our locals need to cancel out the production of the opposing local players so the burden wouldn't be as hard on the imports.

Before I read about the commish's comments on the EASL, it felt like the EASL was a glorified version of the ASEAN Basketball League.

The only difference between the two leagues is that while one is a separate entity, the other is just there to further complicate things.