THOUGHTS | PUREBLENDS BUYS OUT NORTHPORT?

Wow.

No one really saw this coming.

Sure, this has been rumored for some time, but I don’t like writing about speculations. When talk surfaced that Northport was about to be handed over to a group of investors, I thought to myself, if Terrafirma couldn’t get buyers, then how much harder would it be for a team like Northport?

And yet, here we are.

The PBA has yet to release an official statement, but unlike the failed Terrafirma–Starhorse swap, I can’t help feeling excited that another farm team might finally be leaving the league.

Remember when Converge called out Northport as a farm team, and their games had that mini-feud vibe? It turns out Converge was right, and they came out on top in that conversation.

If this deal is real, then this development is good.

Unlike Terrafirma, Northport could have been a contender, but it deliberately chose the opposite direction. This is the same lineage that produced the Harbour Centre Port Masters in the PBL and the Philippine Patriots in the ABL. Both teams, especially Harbour Centre, enjoyed multiple championship runs. Firepower was never really their problem either. Over the years, they’ve had explosive backcourt duos like Solomon Mercado and Gary David, Alex Cabagnot and Jay Washington, and Stanley Pringle and Terrence Romeo. Even today, their roster boasts names like Calvin Abueva, Jio Jalalon, and Joshua Munzon.

The issue is that they became branded as one of the SMC farm teams, much like Terrafirma. They turned into a talent vortex where players would rise as budding superstars only to exit looking like shadows of themselves.

The bigger challenge for PBA squads is that, unlike in the MPBL, you can’t simply walk away from your franchise obligations, and you can’t just jump in whenever you like. The PBA, thank goodness, screens its prospective franchise owners. That is why you rarely see teams disband midseason or leave the league with incomplete campaigns.

The PBA requires franchises to have enough resources to last at least five years.

You can’t just enter the league strong only to realize the burden of running a team after one season. The only exceptions were Barako Bull, which folded after losing international funding, and San Miguel, which briefly went on hiatus during the Marcos-Aquino transition. For a franchise to exit the PBA entirely, they either have to be dirt poor... or the country has to be on the brink of war.

Which brings me to Pureblends.

I suppose I’ll have to prepare an all-time Northport players list on my blog soon, but what about their replacement?

Honestly, I have my doubts. What exactly are Pureblends selling? Yes, they deal in sugar, flour, premixes, and other baking supplies, but can that kind of business sustain max contracts, hidden perks, playoff bonuses, and out-of-the-country games?

They did play in the recent PSL President’s Cup, but will they stay consistent or eventually fall into the same farm-team cycle?

I’m trying to shake off the negativity. At the very least, Pureblends changes the PBA scenery. For years, only four teams have dominated the championships, and any disruption to that is refreshing. I don’t know if Pureblends has the money to battle the big-market squads, but if they can at least compete seriously and shake off the farm tag that has haunted this franchise since the post-Chot Reyes Coca-Cola days, then the league becomes stronger.

Even so, I can’t help but feel disappointed that Mikee Romero leaves the PBA without a championship. He fought hard to own a franchise, even converting Air21 into the Burger King Titans with Yeng Guiao coaching and Beau Belga starting his journey there. The Lina-Romero partnership was short-lived, but Romero’s hunger for a PBA team only grew when he bought out Powerade and rebranded it as GlobalPort Batang Pier.

Many thought he had built another independent team that could take on the league’s giants.

Ugh.

Romero had a deep pool of Harbour Centre alumni to draw from: LA Tenorio, Jayson Castro, Rico Maierhofer, Joseph Yeo, Macmac Cardona, Solomon Mercado, Chico Lanete, Jerwin Gaco, Gabby Espinas, Rob Reyes, JC Intal, and many more. Some, like Tenorio, Castro, and Cardona, went on to shine in the PBA, but most never got the sustained opportunities they deserved. It is frustrating to think that a team with that much talent left the league without a single title after 13 seasons. Japeth Aguilar, for instance, was shipped to Ginebra where he blossomed into a legend. He likely would not have developed the same way if he had stayed with GlobalPort, but his story is one of many where Northport/GlobalPort stars ended up strengthening SMC teams.

With their PBL championship tradition, you would expect them to have followed the paths of Red Bull or Welcoat/Rain or Shine, both of which won PBA titles after moving up. Sadly, they never reached that level. Perhaps this is why they should consider bowing out now, especially given how their final season turned out. They could have achieved great things with the talent they had, but they repeatedly chose to give away their assets instead.

So now, maybe it’s time to polish up Terrafirma, too, in hopes that someone finally buys the franchise and ends its misery.

Get Sydrified.