That's how it works many years back, but since these two giant companies managed to bought those old rivals franchise they are now dominating the league, if that can be done maybe it was been process but the influence and power of both MVP and SMC already dominating, we've seen that when there are franchise who shows interest to enter the league they'll make sure that it won't happened without their authorization, not verbally but behind the acquisition, they've got the voices to echo before PBA commissioners will take their actions.
I remember that during Phoenix’s first attempt to enter the PBA, they were blocked by SMC by renaming the San Miguel Beermen to Petron. That just shows how selfish this company is, so it’s no surprise that they really want to dominate the PBA as if it’s their own league.
Speaking of teams, I read a social media post by Snow Badua saying that someone is reportedly interested in buying the NorthPort franchise. Hopefully, this pushes through, and I also hope that the buyer is a wealthy team that can compete with the SMC and MVP teams.