If there is any underhanded activity going on with basketball in the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao wants to give it a powerful right hook and send it to the mat. The eight-division boxing champ and 
Philippines senator is a huge fan of basketball and, because of his love of the game, founded the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). After all the hard work and dedication he put into creating the league, he isn’t about to allow anyone to destroy its image, and is joining an endeavor to ensure that no one works to fix games in the league.
This past weekend, Pacquiao got together with the chairman of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Ricky Vargas, and PBA league commissioner Willie Marcial to talk about how to ensure match-fixing stays out of basketball, as well as all sports. They were joined by the commissioner of the MPBL, Kenneth Duremdes, and the owner of the league’s Bacoor Strikers, Chaye Cabal-Revilla.
The PBA is the “professional” basketball league in the Philippines, while the MPBL is the “amateur” league. However, the meeting showed that both are on a level playing field when it comes to their goals, namely, making basketball cleaner in the country. Cabal-Revilla told Fox Sports Philippines after the meeting, “It’s a collaboration between MPBL and PBA that they are not competing leagues. Both leagues have the same objective of promoting basketball as a sport to develop athletes, provide livelihood to the players, coaches, staff and their families. But we’re also coordinating and sharing info to help fight the issue of game-fixing.”
To achieve that goal, the leagues will be taking a closer look at analytics and stats in order to try to identify any unusual patterns. This is similar to what has been seen in other sports, such as soccer and tennis, which are both reeling from embarrassing reports of routine match-fixing.
Marcial adds of the leagues’ meeting, “We talked about co-existence. There’s always been an open line between Kenneth and me. I remember an occasion when we were back-and-forth on the phone consulting each other whether or not we would proceed with our scheduled games in Zamboanga. The PBA and MPBL are one in giving an opportunity for Filipinos to make basketball a career and providing a platform for millions of fans to enjoy the game we all love.”
More meetings will take place between the two leagues going forward as they work to develop their plans to clean up the sport, as well as increase participation from aspiring players. The commissioners of the two leagues will also continue to stay in “constant communication” to enhance their alliance.
