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| Kyt Jimenez was among a bunch of players Iloilo suddenly let go. MPBL (file photo) |
MANILA—Three years ago, Iloilo came close to completing a major upset of then South Division top seed Bacoor City in the MPBL Playoffs.
Now, the United Royals are now close to possibly not finishing the season at all.
Word has reached Dugout Philippines that the Ilonggo squad is breaking up its core two months into its comeback season.
As confirmed by people privy to the situation, Iloilo, despite parading a promising lineup led by star guard Kyt Jimenez and veterans Vic Manuel, Dan Sara and Paul Sanga, just let go of the said players plus some others.
The development came during the Independence Day weekend that actually saw the club forfeiting a game against Marikina.
One possible reason being looked upon is salary concerns, which have been the cases in some other struggling MPBL squads in the past.
Unless they can act on it quickly, the United Royals, currently 2-11 for the year, are at risk of forfeiting more games if they cannot field in a competitive roster.
Oddly enough, Iloilo is still in the thick of things for a postseason spot as the team is just a half-game behind Bacolod (3-11) for 10th place in the South Division, so the former may indeed consider finding replacements for the released players in the ongoing transfer window if they still want to at least make the play-in round.
The United Royals are scheduled to face the Negros Hacienderos next on Tuesday night at One Arena in Cainta.
Iloilo is also set to take on Pasig on June 24 at the latter's home, the Ynares Sports Arena, Mindoro on July 1 also at One Arena, Rizal on July 7 at the Ynares Center 2 in Rodriguez, Meycauayan-Marilao on July 14 at the Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City, Sarangani on July 21 at the Bataan People's Center in Balanga, Ilagan on July 24 at the Batangas City Coliseum, and Basilan on July 30 at the FilOil Centre in San Juan City.
Whether the United Royals would actually show up or not remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Biñan and Batangas City scored blowout wins against Zamboanga and Negros, respectively, in the Saturday night matches at One Arena.
The Tatak Gel crushed the Sikat, 72-53, while the Athletics ripped the Hacienderos, 119-92.
The other game saw Caloocan needing overtime to escape against Mindoro, 91-88, and bounce back from its first loss of the season against San Juan.
Batangas City had to borrow Rizal's secondary homecourt as a pitch to hold the tripleheader in Lipa was called off.
