The 40th Season of the Philippine Basketball Association gets off the ground on Sunday with an all-time record 12 teams participating.

Certainly, Asia’s pioneering professional cage league has come a long way, winning out in several battles for existence in its infancy years to now stand tall and be the most feasible advertising vehicle in sports in the Philippines.

There was a time when the PBA played with just six teams, when no company wanted to join. That number was the absolute lowest that the PBA was willing to play, otherwise, it would have folded up.

Now, that number has doubled, and at least three other teams are knocking on the door.

All things point out to at least two of those three teams being accepted as expansion squads next year, which will make the PBA practically being played every day. It will certainly be the best for all the teams in the field, as they will be in the papers, in radio and television practically for 10 months of the year. That will also serve Philippine basketball well, as there will be more players coming from the collegiate ranks who will get the chance to fulfil their lifelong dreams of playing professionally.

Being able to play in the PBA is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Staying long in the league is something not everyone can do. And being a superstar in the PBA is certainly an achievement accomplished by a truly rare breed.

So when we talk of superstars, we talk of people who have really stood out, players whose names — and games — will forever be remembered when one talks of the PBA.

Which brings us to an interesting topic that the PBA will come up with this season. A topic that is as ticklish as to which team — or teams — will win the three conferences that will be played this season. The league will name its next 15 Greatest Players who will join the 25 named before so that it can come up with the 40 which will, for all intents and purposes, represent all the years that the league has been in this world.

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There were some, to my mind, who were left out when the 25 Greatest were named in 1999. There were also a few in the first list whom I thought doesn't deserve to be there to begin with.

But let’s not go there. There’s no use crying over spilt milk, so to speak. Let’s just hope that they — or some of them — will get their places when the next 15 are named.

I’m sure everyone remembers Arnie Tuadles, the former Rookie of the Year with the defunct Toyota Tamaraws who revolutionized the PBA game when he arrived in 1979.

Tuadles was a 6-foot-2 swingman from Cebu, a virtual unknown who burst into the scene and dominated his position for several years.

Tuadles didn’t jump that high, couldn’t run that fast, but had one of the highest IQs on the court during that time. And when we talk of that time, it was the time when the players were thinking, a time when the players were rugged and a time when becoming a superstar was very hard to come by.

After Toyota disbanded, Tuadles found himself helping Great Taste and several other teams win games. Great Taste won championships with him, and it was during his time when Allan Caidic entered the league and learned a lot from Tuadles.

Tuadles knew how to win games. He had star appeal because of his looks and his game was being copied in sandlots everywhere in the country.

How he didn’t end up in the initial list of 25 Greatest Players certainly is a puzzle to me to this very day. I, however, think I know the reason why. And I certainly hope that whoever sits in the panel this time to name the next 15 Greatest doesn't think the same way.

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When the first list came out, there was an unwritten rule that all those who won MVPs would gain automatic inclusion. It was a no-brainer of a rule since winning the MVP meant that you were the best that season, and being the best for even just one season is the crowning achievement of one’s career.

Which leads us to another prospective member of the next 15 who, this early, is being written off by several people.

Willie Miller, the former Letran ace in the NCAA who won MVPs while with Talk ’N Text and Red Bull, seems to be a debatable choice — which will happen if the current panel decides to do away with the MVP rule that was used when the league named the first 25.

People contend that Miller won his MVPs when the best players in the league didn’t complete the season because they were in the national team. Miller won in 2002 when the Centennial Team under Tim Cone played in the Asian Games and then several years later when another PBA selection was assembled to play in the Asiad.

Was it Miller’s fault that he wasn’t included in those Philippine teams and that he was left to dominate the league later on?

And in this day and age when defensive players are being paid huge money like scorers in the teams, does Marc Pingris have a shot at being named to the next 15?

Where will that leave Chito Loyzaga then? There’s this firm belief that Ramon Fernandez, a winner of four MVPs, was the greatest PBA player ever. And Loyzaga was the only one who shut ‘El Presidente’ down at will in several memorable games.

It will be a tough choice for whoever will sit in the panel to name these players. I just sincerely hope that they pick the right ones and not leave anyone who is deserving behind.