I'm very familiar with ASA Code and the roster rules. The only geographic restriction with an ASA team's initial roster is they have to register with the state/metro association where the greatest number of their players reside (with an exception for counties along the border between a metro and state) and that has to be retained for the remainder of the season. Some ASA teams bypass the pick-up player restrictions by putting players from other non-ASA teams on their roster before it is redlined.You information on ASA is somewhat incomplete as it leaves out important details. Roster restrictions are much tighter in ASA, and the berths are not cherry picked to the most advantageous locations. PGF by design will yield more top teams where the self imposed constraints of ASA make that more difficult. The bottom line is they are worlds apart in the way they do business.
BTW, ASA includes all JO registrations -- rec and travel -- when allocating Class A berths. That doesn't make sense...