TEAMS are set to gain more in monetary incentives in this season's Super League which starts on Saturday.

Besides the annual grants, which will be disclosed at a later date, affiliates also stand a chance of earning incentives based on their rankings in the league and from broadcasting rights.

The teams will earn incentives if their matches are shown live on local channels.

In past seasons, every Super League team were given a RM300,000 grant but it could be more this season.

MSL Sdn Bhd committee chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the new proposal on incentives and grants will have to be endorsed by the finance committee before it can be implemented.

"We are still working on the formula for the incentive scheme and as soon as it is finalised, we will submit it to the finance committee. Our strategy is to make teams work for added incentives instead of giving them direct funding," said Annuar after unveiling the new MSL logo at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya yesterday.

"We are also finalising the scheme for the annual grants. There could be an increase.

"Our main goal here is to help teams make more money through enhanced marketing and promotional efforts for the next four years."

Annuar said his committee has also started brainstorming sessions to come up with ideas to revamp the M-League but they must correspond with Fifa's guidelines.

"I believe that in order to make our league attractive, we need to think global. And to achieve this, there must be a two-way relationship between FAM and its affiliates.

"My mission is for everyone to work hand-in-hand to make our league more attractive and exciting.

"We must set a new benchmark as only this way, can we see a positive change in our league," said Annuar, adding that FAM's door is always open to affiliates to give input to the M-League.

On football being part of the Road to London programme, Annuar said the association welcomes all efforts to help the national team's preparations for major events.

"We need to discuss with the Sports Ministry on the programme for our footballers," he said.

Meanwhile, former Perak coach M. Karathu has been appointed as Kelantan's head coach to replace B. Sathianathan, who has been suspended for six months by the FAM for speaking against the association's policies.

IT was disappointment again for Westports Kuala Lumpur Dragons after the Philippine Patriots claimed a 95-92 win to take their Asean Basketball League semi-finals series to 2-0 at the Maba Stadium in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Gabriel Freeman continued where he left off in Game One with 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Patriots repeated last season's sweep of the Dragons at the same stage.

Rudy Lingganay led all scorers with 25 points for the Dragons, who attempted a valiant comeback in the fourth quarter after trailing by 11 but to no avail.

Dragons were slow out of the blocks, quickly falling behind 9-18 in the opening quarter on a dunk by Freeman before narrowing the deficit to 22-17.

Freeman, however, found himself in foul trouble and sat out the second period which allowed the Dragons to dominate the boards.

Lingganay brought the Dragons back into the game by scoring his team's final 11 points of the second half, including three consecutive three-pointers, as the home side pulled level 42-42 at the break.

Freeman returned in the third quarter and nearly sparked a free-for-all when he grabbed the diminutive Lau Er Kheng by the neck and wrestled him to the ground as they contested for the ball under the basket.

The referees further inflamed the home crowd by awarding Freeman two technical free throws. He converted one.

The incident seemed to galvanise the visitors as Warren Ybanez and Ernesto Billiones hit three-pointers for the defending champions to lead 74-63 heading into the final period.

But after Ybanez and John Alcaraz fouled out, it was the Dragons' turn to put pressure on the Patriots as they closed to 89-91 with over a minute left after Patrick Cabahug sank a three-pointer on a steal by Lingganay.

Benedict Fernandez, however, crushed the Dragons when he was left open to score from beyond the arc to put the Patriots up 94-89.