NLEX Road Warriors (PBA D-League)

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NLEX Road Warriors
Manuel V. Pangilinan
Championships6 PBA D-League Championships
2011 Foundation
2011 Aspirant's
2012 Foundation
2013 Aspirant's
2014 Aspirant's
2014 Foundation

The NLEX Road Warriors was a

Air21 Express
in June 2014.

Transfer to the PBA

PBA expansion franchise application

In March 2014, Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) submitted its letter of intent to join the PBA as an expansion team.

Blackwater Elite) and Columbian Autocar Corporation (Kia Sorento) as expansion teams for the 2014-2015 season
.

As a concession to Kia, which did not have a basketball team in the PBA D-League, the PBA board of governors did not allow Blackwater and NLEX to elevate their D-League players. Instead, the three expansion teams will build their teams through an expansion draft (with the ten existing teams protecting fourteen players in their respective rosters), the free agency and the rookie draft, in which the expansion teams will be given the 11th, 12th and 13th pick in the first round of the 2014 PBA draft.[2][3]

Additional concessions were given to the three expansion teams at the conclusion of the special meeting by PBA board of governors, three weeks after approving their franchise application. These included the revision of the expansion draft in which the ten existing teams will protect twelve players (from the previous fourteen), and the first three picks of the second round of the 2014 PBA draft. Only the three expansion teams will be allowed to pick players after the third round of the rookie draft.[4]

Acquisition of the
Air21 Express
PBA franchise

While Kia and Blackwater have paid their respective franchise fees, NLEX requested for an extension, as they were studying whether to enter the PBA as an expansion team or acquire an existing PBA franchise.

On June 17, 2014, MNTC announced that it was having negotiations with a PBA team to acquire their franchise. Due to the ongoing

Air21 Express
.

On June 23, 2014, an agreement was reached between MNTC and the Lina Group of Companies (owners of

Air21 Express) regarding the sale of its PBA franchise to MNTC.[6] The sale was approved during the regular monthly meeting of the board of governors, paving the way for the sale of the franchise to MNTC.[7]

References