The big elephant in the room that nobody in the PBA wants to answer is the presence of 'farm teams' in the league. Even Google AI acknowledeges this, but nobody is doing anything about it. Everybody knows t except, well, except the PBA.
Pureblends owner Bryann Calantoc wants his first-ever foray in what he termed as the 'highest level of basketball in the country' to start on the right foot. He admits that there is a negative perception about NorthPort Batang Pier, before his company acquired its PBA franchise.
Calantoc admitted being aware of the 'farm team' label the NorthPort earned late in its years in the PBA, mainly due to several trades that were usually favorable to one team, specifically those under the SMC umbrella.
He said his team is far away from it.
"I understand the perception that NorthPort has carried in the past. But under our management, we are committed to a new direction," said Calantoc in a chance conversation with SPIN.ph, his first-ever interview since he shot into the limelight with his decision to buy the NorthPort franchise.
"Our priority is building a winning culture, retaining talents, and competing at the highest level, not being a feeder team," added the new team owner. "Transparency, players development, and long term competitiveness will define our approach."
These are just words. It is another matter convincing the fans that this will not happen. Everyone has seen how the 'farm teams' evolved. It did not start immediately. There were telltale signs, though, that led to it.
For instance, NorthPort was known as GlobalPort before and is owned by Mikee Romero, who is worth around US$ 300M. GlobalPort is a very rich company that many even thought can fund two PBA teams, until it was sold to the San Miguel Corporation (SMC), which already owns three PBA teams.
After trading away its prized players to mainly SMC teams, NorthPort got to the semis only 3 times in 32 conferences. Terrence Romeo's was move to TNT in 2018, followed by the Staney Pringle trade to Barangay Ginebra in 2019.
The one-on-one deal between Greg Slaughter (Ginebra) and Christian Standhardinger (NorthPort) happened in 2021. It may be considered as a fair deal, except that Slaughter never played for NorthPort as a result of contract disagreement, while Standhardinger helped Ginebra win a championship.
In 2022, Jamie Malonzo, who was picked second overall by NorthPort in the 2020 PBA draft was moved to Barangay Ginebra (surprised?). It was obvious that the high-flyer out of La Salle was one of the most athletically gifted studs in the pro league. The silver lining is that Arvin Tolentino, who was acquired by NorthPort in the deal, blossomed into a Best Player of the Conference awardee.
A year later, Robert Bolick left the Batang Pier to sign with Japan B.League B2 side Fukushima Firebonds. But when things didn't work out overseas, the third pick overall of the 2018 draft didn't return to NorthPort, which held his PBA signing rights, and instead was shipped to NLEX in a five-man trade.
Zavier Lucero landed on the lap of NorthPort at No. 5 overall since he was nursing an ACL injury at that time of the 2023 draft. But the Batang Pier's gamble paid off as the nimble big man impressed in the team's orange and white. Unfortunately for NorthPort fans, Lucero did not spend his best years with the team as he was shipped to Magnolia on July 2024 in a post-draft trade for Jio Jalalon and Abu Tratter.
JM Calma was a big man on the rise for the Batang Pier in 2024, averaging 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in the Philippine Cup before suffering an ACL injury in April 2024. The 6-foot-6 big man never played another game for the team again as he was shipped to San Miguel on April 2025 in a trade for rarely used rookie Avan Nava and a future second-round pick.
With Lucero gone and Tolentino out injured, William Navarro spread his wings at NorthPort in the Philippine Cup, averaging a double-double of 20.57 points and 10.57 rebounds through seven games. However, the former Gilas Pilipinas ace found himself jumping from a NorthPort team reeling towards an early end to its season to Magnolia for Calvin Abueva, Jerrick Balanza and a future second-round pick. The deal comes 10 months after the Lucero deal, basically transporting the Batang Pier's promising frontcourt to the Hotshots.
If the new owner of PureBlends is serious about its entry to the PBA, fans will welcome it. However, it will be hard to convince them about it unless the team makes some serious move.
First would be to make sure that all promising players in its current roster are retained. Second, the team will have to make a more concerted effort to reach a deal with the 7-foot tall Slaughter because he is still a force to contend with in the paint. Finally, reach a deal with Dave Ildefonso. The Ateneo star never signed with the Batang Pier after drawn-out negotiations further muddled by his dad's 'farm team' comments in response to fans on social media. He has taken his act to Abra in the MPBL, where he is having an MVP-worthy season.
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