Our very own PBA ain’t dead.
I refuse to believe that. I may not be helping the PBA in terms of gate attendance that much but I definitely will do everything in my power to spread the word that the 1st ever professional basketball league in Asia is still alive.
It’s actually a sleeping giant.
See, one of the main reasons why the PBA is drifting farther and farther away from the hearts of Pinoys is the fact that it keeps getting passed around from one television network to another. Its hard for fans to keep up with the league because it keeps changing course. Here’s how I see it. If I have, say, 70% interest in watching the PBA on tv, but for some reason – I can’t remember which channel to turn to, chances are – I’ll watch something else. Its that simple.
You just can’t expect me to ask around. Humans are wired to rely on stuff that’s already right in front of them. The PBA is just not doing a very good job in putting the games ‘IN OUR FACES’. Just look at how powerful the UAAP has become. It relied heavily on ABS-CBN’s marketing power to promote the league, the players and the games. I mean, the powerhouse network made it a mission to promote the league in everyway imaginable. Guest appearances of players on various shows. Commercials and teasers left and right every hour. Little things that goes a long way. Not to mention that it created this aura that if you’re following the UAAP – you are cool.
I believe the PBA can also generate the same atmosphere. The talent is there, the fan base are there ( just a little confused for now) and the right leaders are in place. A little tweak here and some creativity there, the league should be back to its glory days.
You can’t blame the Filipino people for alienating our very own PBA. The league has gone through a major facelift and has been peppered by fil-ams (and shams) in the last 12 years. Alvin Patrimonio’s gone. Benjie Paras, Vergel Meneses and Johnny Abarrientos are all retired. Robert Jaworski’s no longer manning the sidelines like a starving Hyena. Samboy Lim’s on the bench, not really ‘skywalking’. Same goes for the ‘Atom Bomb’ Ato Agustin and Captain Marbel Kenneth Duremdes. Almost every member of the Grandslam Alaska team are wearing suits and colorful ties trying to look busy on Tim Cone’s bench. Its just not the same anymore. Almost everything about the PBA has changed. But…
Guess what. When you love something. Or someone for that matter. You accept the changes and live with it. You support the changes and take the positives out of the situation. That’s what the people can do for a change. Ask not what our very own PBA can offer you, but ask yourself what you can offer the PBA. Love your own ika nga.
Sky is the limit for the PBA and I will be a witness to its resurrection from hereon out.
You can catch the PBA games every Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays (out of town games) and Sundays on Studio 23.
Basketball Adobo. 