All-Filipino rakes in record P29.6 M

Barangay Ginebra returned to the bosom of its never-say-die fans; San Miguel Beer finally nailed the one crown that had eluded it the past five years; new breed of Fil-Ams with gung-ho spirit like Mark Caguioa spiced up the action, and Pop Cola added to the drama with a resurgence built around a happy mix of superstars and new stars.

The PBA All-Filipino, indeed, came up with a sure-fire formula to be the season’s box office hit.

The pro league drew a total of 297,262 paying fans in the All-Filipino conference and grossed a whopping sum of P29,654,440 — both figures all-time high for a single PBA tournament.

A mammoth crowd of 17,551 — best ever for a single playdate — witnessed San Miguel Beer capture the All-Filipino crown in Game Six of its best-of-seven title playoff with Ginebra, and that raised the conference’s average gate attendance to 6,325.

It showed a 12-percent improvement from the league’s average gate attendance of 5,631 last year.

Of course, there was a marked increase in revenue.

The PBA earned P630,946 from gate sales per game, marking a rise of close to 23 percent from the P527,219 average last year. If the league sustains the number, it will hit a new mark, breaking its previous all-time best average earning of P610,189 in 1997.

The 1997 season was a banner year for the PBA as it attracted 7,960 paying fans per playdate. Curiously, that was Ginebra’s best season as it figured in two title playoffs, winning one of them. Player-coach Robert Jaworski then had Marlou Aquino, Noli Locsin, Vince Hizon, Pido Jarencio and Bal David among others in his lineup.

With Ginebra back in the finals for the first time in the post-Jaworski era, the recent All-Filipino title playoff turned to be a big hit, attracting sell-out crowd the entire series. It posted a new all-time high in Game Six as even the SRO tickets were sold out.

The previous all-time best was 16,097 which was recorded during the season opening last year.

The playoffs alone registered an average of 8,538 people in attendance, which meant close to P900,000 in gate receipts. The Araneta Coliseum brought in more people as it registered an average of 11,026 or P1.176 million per game since the quarterfinals.

Initial reports of surveys in television ratings also showed big improvement with Games 1 and 2 of the finals netting an average of slightly over 18 percent in Metro Manila and more than 22 percent in the suburbs, which is comprised of the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna.

Acting PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios gave big credit to Ginebra although he expressed gratitude to all PBA fans "for braving the traffic, the heat and occasional rains just to come out here and support their teams."

"This only goes to show that the Filipinos’ love for basketball, and their PBA for that matter, has not in any way wavered despite the very hard times," he said.