HEADLINES

No word yet from disbanded Dragons

Rey Joble

The Philippine Basketball Association is still waiting for an official communication from Bay Area before tackling its fate in the Commissioner's Cup set to open on 15 October.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial on Saturday admitted that the Dragons have yet to inform them of their plans amid reports that they have already disbanded ahead of the Commissioner's Cup and the Season 2 of the East Asia Super League.

In a report by the South China Post, a Hong Kong-based newspaper, Bay Area had already terminated the contracts of its players, coaches and staff in preparation for disbandment.

It was such a shocking move as the Dragons just announced that they will be seeing action in the PBA and the EASL in the coming months.

In fact, the Dragons even revealed their roster and stressed that they will be relocating to Hong Kong and will be known as the Chun Yu Bay Area Dragons.

"We're still waiting for formal communication from them, but there were already feelers about this," Marcial told DAILY TRIBUNE in a telephone conversation on Saturday.

The Dragons have been the toasts of the previous Commissioner's Cup.

With National Basketball Association standout Andrew Nicholson and Myles Powell as imports and Olympian Brian Goorjian as head coach, the Dragons made it all the way to the finals but fell prey to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel bannered by Justin Brownlee.

The Dragons committed to return to the league and requested to play some of their matches in Hong Kong for the benefit of their fans in China's special administrative region.

But everything is now in limbo following reports of disbandment.

A DAILY TRIBUNE source said two Filipinos in the Dragons squad — assistant coach Cholo Villanueva and team executive Maya Montecillo — have also yet to be formally informed while Goorjian remains busy coaching Australia in the FIBA Basketball
World Cup.