WATCH: PBA Season 45 Parade of Teams – San Miguel Beermen!

It will be a day to remember as the Philippine Basketball Association walks down memory lane while looking forward to brighter years ahead in elaborate rites heralding the opening of PBA Season 45 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

The 12 PBA member ball clubs and the entire makeup of the league today salute the nine original teams which on 1975 bolted from the amateur ranks and laid the foundation for the pioneering pro league in Asia.

The annual season-end awards ceremony, called the Leo’s, ushers in the festivities capped by the keenly awaited lone opening match pitting reigning five-time Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer versus 2018 and 2019 runner-up Magnolia.

The Beermen are without their No. 1 pillar June Mar Fajardo but are still fancied to contend for the crown while the Hotshots are highly motivated and aching to go all the way to the top now.

But the Beermen, the Hotshots and the rest of the PBA teams will first give way to the best and brightest of the past season.