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THE future of Terrafirma Dyip is in doubt entering the off-season of the Philippine Basketball Association.
Photograph by Joey Mendoza for the daily tribune
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Cloudy future beckons following Terrafirma’s final game in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) late Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
According to a reliable DAILY TRIBUNE source, the Dyip has yet to announce anything concrete except that they will have a team meeting on Saturday, 14 June, to discuss the future of the team.
Questions have been hounding Terrafirma during its stint in the Philippine Cup.
In fact, the Dyip were on the edge of their seats after news broke out that the team was put on sale with a Quezon Province-based shipping company expressing its interest to become its new owner.
But after failing to meet some crucial requirements, the deal with Starhorse Shipping Lines fell through, prompting Terrafirma to solicit interests from prospective buyers.
At least three companies expressed willingness to acquire the franchise but the Zamboanga Valientes appeared to be the most interested among the potential buyers.
In fact, Valientes team owner Junnie Navarro even visited PBA commissioner Willie Marcial in his office last April together with his potential co-team owners in Kings Asia Pacific president Cory Navarro, and Crewsharp chief executive officer Trevor Crewe.
But up to now, the sale has yet to be formally completed.
“That’s why everybody is getting anxious. We don’t know what the future holds,” a member of the team said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“All we know is that we’ll have a team meeting on June 14 and we’ll see what will happen.”
Should the sale formally materialize, the Dyip have already played their final game in the PBA — a sorry 82-97 loss to Blackwater.
Louie Sangalang dropped a game-high 24 points for the Dyip, who obviously played their hearts out in what could be their farewell game in Asia’s oldest professional basketball league. They finished their final season with a 3-30 win-loss record, putting them in a solid position to bag the No. 1 pick in the coming Rookie Draft.
After the game, the mood in the dugout was light and the members of the team had a team dinner to raise their glasses for the season that passed.
Still, there’s no denying the sadness and in their eyes.
“We really have no idea what will happen to us, to our team,” the source added.
“Some of us couldn’t make long-term plans because we don’t know if we’ll still be playing in the PBA by next month or next, next month. Everything remains hanging. It all depends on the outcome of the transaction between Terrafirma and its potential buyers.”
“What’s clear is that we gave our best in our final game but, unfortunately, we didn’t get the win.”