OSAKA - Going strong nearing Season 50, the PBA is not about to rest on its laurels, driven by a desire to serve its purpose of dishing out the best sports entertainment for the nation.
As the most followed sports show in the land, Asia's first play-for-pay cage league wants to keep that status, and now looks forward to even improving the brand, not just by making the game more exciting but an experience to remember for in-venue watching fans.
Though the PBA games remain the most dominant in TV ratings, PBA officials want to bring the crowd back in the playing venue.
They hope to showcase the PBA to the global fans, and the mission is to make the PBA the No. 1 basketball entertainment league in Asia.
In their just-concluded annual planning session, the members of the PBA board of governors established pillars on how to attain the goal.
Sponsored content: "The challenge is how to execute it," said chairman Ricky Vargas.
The pillars or ideas include improving the quality and competitiveness of play, re-establishing the league as the source of the best talent for Gilas and net exporter of players in Asia, focusing on fan engagement, investing in ancillary business including the construction of an own arena and expanding CSR (corporate social responsibility) programs.
In a bid to make the game more exciting, the league is introducing new rules for the coming season. Most interesting is the "four-point shot" from beyond a 27-foot arc.
"Nagawa na natin ito sa All-Star Game. With this rule, mababawasan ang zone defense, lalabas ang depensa at mas tutulin ang laro," said newly elected vice chairman Alfrancis Chua.
The PBA will continue to support the national team program, embracing the thought that a strong Gilas team will be beneficial to the PBA, and a strong PBA will be beneficial to Gilas.
Sponsored content: On fan engagement, the PBA will have programs where the players are to mingle or interact with the fans.
"Like those in the upper box, ang mahal ng binayad nila sa pagpasok sa venue, then all they got eh kaway kaway lang sa players. Kakausapin ko ang mga coaches, i-allow nila ang mga players lumapit sa fans," said Chua.
On ancillary business, the biggest plan is for the league to finally have its own arena in the near future.
"We're looking at properties in Metro Manila, about two to three hectares ang laki. Malapit na itong matuloy," said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial.
"At kung matuloy at maitayo ito, hindi na maguguluhan ang mga fans kung saan ba ang venue ng PBA games."
"We're not just re-modeling a house but we're building a house," said Vargas. (SB)
