Sunday’s schedule (Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m. — Opening Ceremonies
6:30 p.m. — Burger King vs Purefoods

With rookie Japeth Aguilar now with Burger King, it’s going to be an exciting showdown between the Whopper and the Purefoods Giants, who will unveil another exciting newcomer in Rico Maierhofer, as the Philippine Basketball Association opens its 35th season with the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup this Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Aguilar and Maierhofer, the top two picks in the PBA Rookie Draft, are expected to go at it in the 6:30 p.m. encounter.

The new season will formally start with the traditional Opening Ceremonies at 4:30 p.m. highlighted by the parade of the 10 ballclubs and the Smart-Gilas developmental national team, a guest squad in the season-opening conference.

A moment of silence and a special tribute will also be offered to former PBA chairman, the late Tony Chua of Barako Bull, who died in a freak accident at the height of typhoon “Ondoy.”

However, all eyes will be on the 6-foot-10 Aguilar as well as the 6-foot-6 Maierhofer, two players who happened to play for rival schools during their college days, the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the La Salle Green Archers.

“It’s going to be an exciting game, no doubt about it,” said BK’s Yeng Guiao, the national team mentor who had the opportunity to coach Aguilar in the Powerade-Team Pilipinas a few months back in the FIBA-Asia Championship in China.

Aguilar finally came to terms with the Whopper after weeks of resistance.

Instead of the three-year contract, Aguilar is expected to sign a one-year deal although an insider who has knowledge with the negotiations said that after several games the 6-foot-10 player will be dealt to Talk ’N Text.

On the other hand, the source said that the defending champion Tropang Texters will release Aguilar to Gilas.

The move is expected to be smooth as TNT is owned by telecommunications mogul Manny V. Pangilinan, the president of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), which is the chief backer of the Gilas national team.

Nevertheless, the presence of Aguilar in the BK roster surely solidifies the team’s frontline following the departure of Arwind Santos, who was traded to San Miguel Beer.

“Facing Burger King is always a good test,” Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio said.

“They’ll surely be a tough nut to crack despite the departure of Arwind Santos. They will rely on their quickness, toughness and aggressiveness, all the characteristics of a Yeng Guiao-coached team.”

Aside from the 22-year-old Aguilar, the Whopper also added rookies Ronnie Matias, Orlando Daroya, as well as sophomores Chico Lanete and third year guard Ronjay Buenafe to join holdovers like Gary David, Wynne Arboleda, Erick Rodriguez, Aaron Aban, Egay Billones, Mark Yee, Beau Belga, Carlo Sharma, and JR Quinahan.

As for Purefoods, aside from adding Maierhofer, they also got rookie point guard Chris Timberlake, Rafi Teavis and Paul Artadi in a trade with Ginebra, as well as Mark Pingris from San Miguel. Artadi and Pingris are Purefoods returnees.

The Giants have retained the core of the team that includes national team players James Yap and Kerby Raymundo, super-sub PJ Simon, veterans Nino Canaleta, Romel Adducul, Don Allado, Jondan Salvador, and Jonathan Fernandez.

“We are excited to play our first game. We’ll get to see whether our off-season wheeling and dealing made our roster more exciting and competitive,” Gregorio said.

“It will also be great opportunity for Rafi, Rico, and Chris to slowly fit in our system and be an integral part in our rotation. In addition, they must adjust quickly and play beautiful music with the rest of the team for us to have a fruitful season,” he added.