COACH Mensur Bajramovic hopes Eastern will be able to compete again in the Philippine Basketball Association by the time the league celebrates its 50th anniversary next season.
The 59-year-old Bosnian said he valued the experience of playing in Asia’s first ever play-for-pay league especially after watching Sunday’s Philippine Cup game between Meralco and NLEX at the Philsports Arena.
Bajramovic spent the weekend in the country to see long-time friend Nenad Vucinic, the active consultant of Meralco.
The Bolts won, 108-92.
“We enjoyed playing here (last conference). And now it reminds me (after watching the game). I hope we will have a chance to play again,” said the former Bosnia national men’s basketball coach.
Eastern saw action as guest team in the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup, where it once held the top spot in the early going of the conference.
But playing in two other tournaments in a domestic league in Hong Kong and the East Asia Super League simultaneous with its PBA stint, eventually took the toll on an Eastern team side that featured former Bay Area Dragons stalwarts Glen Yang, Kobe Lam, and Hayden Blankley along with imports Cameron Clark and Chris McLaughlin.
By the end of the eliminations, the weary guest team limped home as the seventh seeded ballclub, which needed to beat no. 2 seed TNT twice in a row to advance in the semis.
The eventual champion blasted Eastern in the quarterfinals, 109-93.
Now Bajramovic wants another shot of playing in the PBA, which has a two-season deal under its previous agreement with Eastern.
“It’s a decision we have to make, the club I mean,” added the Eastern coach, who returned to Hong Kong on Monday.