As the Academic School Year 2024-25 comes to an end, many student-athletes are still eager to pursue their dream of playing professional basketball.
So that begs the question: Is playing in the PBA still a dream for them?
Overseas Opportunities for Filipino Basketball Players: B.League, KBL, ABA & More
If you are a certified starter throughout your collegiate years in either the UAAP or NCAA, your chance of playing as an “Asian Import” in Japan’s B League and Korea’s KBL is almost certain.
Heck, even playing as an Asian import in the Adriatic Basketball Association (ABA) League at Dubai can also be an option now as the former Ateneo Blue Eagle and the first ever Filipino Asian import, Thirdy Ravena, is now currently playing hoops there.
But don’t worry, if you haven’t played in a well-prestigious university and didn’t average 30 points per game and have the height of Goliath, you still have a chance overseas. I mean Aaron Ganal is the first ever Filipino player to ever hoop in Spain for the team of MoraBanc Andorra in their basketball league called “Liga ACB”.
No disrespect, but WHO?!
Apparently this 6-foot-1 guard defied the odds as he became part of the Spanish league. This 20-year-old Ilocano was not the biggest star in the Philippines, but became a superstar overnight when he saw some action last October 2024 when their squad won against Básquet Coruña.
But let’s all go back to Thirdy, he was the pioneer of overseas basketball. Way back in 2020 where he made noise in the Philippines as he signed with the San-En NeoPhoenix, and it was on November 6 2020 where he debuted for his squad and had the statline of 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists in almost 22 minutes of playing time.
The reason why this move was so controversial was that no one, and I mean no one, has ever thought of playing international basketball. Considering that PBA has always been the dream for anyone who aspired to make a name for themselves in the history of the sport.
In what a lot of people thought was a “mere chance of luck”, a Filipino guard having a chance to play as an import was then followed by a number of Asian imports.
These young athletes were some of the best collegiate stars during their time.
Following Thirdy’s footsteps was his brother Kiefer Ravena, who did play in the PBA for the NLEX Road Warriors, but after some issues off the court as well as in negotiation of contracts, he signed with the Shiga Lakestars during the 2021-22 season of the B League.
Then Bobby Ray Parks Jr. joined in. After him, the following seasons of the B League recruited Matthew Wright, Roosevelt Adams, Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Greg Slaughter, Geo Chiu, Carl Tamayo, RJ Abarrientos, Justine Baltazar, Jordan Heading, Kobe Paras, Jay Washington..
And even the best talent that the Philippines has in making it to the NBA, Kai Sotto, also plays in the B League.
There were so many Filipino Asian imports that at one point, when they had an All-Star game, the players for the Team of Asian Imports were all Filipinos.
It’s also worth noting that in the Korean Basketball League, the very first Filipino Asian import that they had was the man they lost against during the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
The Philippines beat South Korea twice, and the 6-foot guard SJ Belangel was the reason for it. He was then offered a 2-year contract by the Daegu Kogasas Pegasus for their 2022-23 season.
After that, he was followed by the athletic guard in Rhenz Abando, who signed with Anyang JKJ Boosters, then it was RJ Abarrientos who signed with the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus. RJ also won the rookie of the year in KBL last 2023.
And then there were Dave Ildefonso, JD Cagulangan, Carl Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao, Justin Gutang, Ethan Alvano, Calvin Epistola, Miguel Oczon, Juan Gómez De Liaño, and his brother, Javi Gómez De Liaño.
There are so many Filipino imports in KBL that every team’s Asian import is Filipino.
Back then, before playing in the KBL, Juan Gómez De Liaño played as an import for the BC Wolves at the Lithuanian Basketball League (Lietuvos krepšinio lyga) last 2022.
Lastly, Kai Sotto, before playing in the B League, played 2 years at the NBL Australia for the team of Adelaide 36ers.
Philippine Basketball League Options Beyond the PBA: MPBL, PSL, NBL, and AsiaBasket
Considering that the PBA only has a limited slot, there are a lot of competing basketball leagues that players may try to be a part of.
There’s the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), which has been present for almost a decade now. There’s the brand new NBL and Pilipinas Super League (PSL) and AsiaBasket, formerly known as FilBasket, which started last 2021.
In these leagues, if you were warming the bench during your collegiate stint, they can still offer you plenty of money and a solid starting role if you have shown enough talent and skill.
I mean, we saw in the past high-ranking collegiate stars opt to play in the MPBL rather than in the PBA.
Why Filipino Players Now Have More Career Paths Than Just the PBA?
Compared to the previous decades, if you failed to make it to the PBA, then all hope is lost, and your basketball career is forever ruined.
During the 2020s, there are a lot of opportunities for an aspiring basketball player to make a name for himself. I mean yeah, sure, being a “PBA Superstar” is far better than anything, but let’s be frank…
Athletes aren’t after fame and glory; what they are chasing is greatness and the chance to become the best version of themselves.
The PBA will forever be the option of any basketball aspirant, but nowadays, it’s not the #1 option anymore.
Perhaps instead of wishing that the best talented basketball players are all congested and asking for more playing time in the PBA, shouldn’t we be happy that these people are achieving their dream elsewhere while playing the game that they love?
