Alaska Aces set to leave PBA
MANILA – One of the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) fabled franchises will be bidding goodbye to the league.
The Alaska Aces announced on Wednesday that they will let go of their franchise after their stint in the Governors’ Cup, calling it a “retirement”.
The decision, according to the team, is in line with the new direction the company, now under the ownership of Royal FrieslandCampina, is tracking.
“The new group that comes in probably sees it a little bit differently and doesn’t necessarily see the [sports marketing] value the way we did. That’s perfectly understandable,” Alaska Milk Corporation chairman Fred Uytengsu said in a press conference moments after the announcement was made.
Alaska joined the PBA, the first professional basketball league in Asia, in 1986 as an expansion team after San Miguel took a leave from the league. The Beermen would return for the third conference of that season.
The Aces, who also carried the monikers Air Force, Milkmen, and Hills Bros. Coffee Kings, won 14 PBA titles including the 1996 grand slam under Coach Tim Cone.
They last won it all in the 2013 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, sweeping Barangay Ginebra in the best-of-five finals.
It was also Alaska’s first championship without Cone at the helm as he already moved to Magnolia at that time. Cone would later join Ginebra.
What’s next for the Aces?
When asked about the future of his squad, Uytengsu revealed two possible options, one of which is transferring the ownership of the franchise to a new company.
But currently, according to him, there are no prospective buyers just yet.
“There are no immediate buyers at this point in time, but it remains a possibility that we will sell our franchise to another company if they want to come in at the end of the season,” Uytengsu said.
The second option is that the franchise would be completely dissolved and all the players in the lineup will be placed under a dispersal draft, which could be done during the rookie draft event in May.
For now, according to Uytengsu, the focus is on leaving the league with a bang by clinching the Governors’ Cup title.
“As I told the team today, there is still one more conference to get our 15th ring, so I’m not throwing in the towel yet,” he further said. “I hope Alaska is in the finals.”
Currently 3-2 in the conference, the Aces’ farewell tour begins with a Thursday night clash against the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
