Sport Basketball (Women's) Inaugural season 2014 Commissioner Editha Botecario | Founded August 2014 President Ewon Arayi | |
No. of teams 8 teams (2016 Aspirants) | ||
Pinay Ballers League, abbreviated as PiBaLeague is a women's basketball league based in the Philippines. Formed and conceptualized in 2014 by Ewon’s Sports Association, Inc., a group of local women's basketball stakeholders led by former Adamson Falcons women's basketball team player Merenciana "Ewon" Arayi, who last played as the team captain of the Philippines women's national basketball team competed in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, the PiBaLeague aims to giving women's basketball players, who part of the national teams and played in collegiate leagues, a chance to play after college and start a semi-professional career.
The PiBaLeague is part of an attempt to form a professional women's basketball league in the Philippines, following the now-defunct WPBL, the counterpart of the men's league, Philippine Basketball League. The league had two divisions: The Elite and Open division and the Developmental division. The Elite Division is being played by the players who have finished their collegiate careers and the Developmental division is being played by women's basketball players who worked for BPOs and call center companies and those players who are not playing well but continued playing. The PiBALeague also conducts clinics and outreach programs in the provinces for the girls who will start a striving basketball career in the future. The Philippine Sports Commission thru the Women-in-Sports program had gained support the league.
The funding and operational costs of the league (including officiating, venues and security) come from the entrance fee of the league's teams and from the league's sponsors, which are small and medium-sized companies including Ever Bilena.