PBA must sustain gains of All-Filipino

The tremendous success that was enjoyed by the PBA during the recent All-Filipino Cup won by Sun Miguel over sister team Ginebra will serve as a hint of good and better things to come this year for the country’s premier basketball league.

This was aired yesterday by league chairman Ignatius Yenko at the weekly PSA Sports Forum at the Holiday Inn Hotel where he was joined by acting commissioner Sonny Barrios in tackling various issues concerning the PBA.

Yenko said the record sales of P29.6 million generated by the league in the previous conference couldn’t have come at a better time, specially on his part since he is barely five months sitting as chairman.

"Well, when I came in as chairman, all I wanted was really just to help the league improve on its gate receipts and TV shares not knowing that we could attain it so fast, but of course, the competitive balance must remain," he said.

The All-Filipino, considered as the most prestigious among the three titles being disputed in a single season, drew a total of 297,262 paying fans for a whopping sales of P29,654,440, both figures are all-time highs for a single conference.

"As you can see, we’re all smiling because we’re looking forward to a very good year. And it’s because we started strong, but we still have our work cut out for us," said Barrios, representing commissioner Jun Bernardino who is out on sick bay.

Yenko, trying to continue the legacy left behind by his father Mariano, the former commissioner, said it is now up to the PBA to sustain the momentum generated by the explosive conference where the Beermen defeated the Kings in the best-of-seven finals, 4-2.

"Since the last two conferences will be import-laden, then we need quality imports to be able to satisfy the fans and keep up the basketball mania in the country, and all the teams are leaving no stone unturned in trying to achieve this," he added.

Yenko also reiterate the league’s commitment to support the country’s campaign in next year’s Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea, and this means fielding an all-PBA team in a bid to regain the coveted regional title.

"It’s been a commitment and we’ll definitely support the fielding of a PBA squad to next year’s Asian Games. And we are now considering forming the team earlier than in the previous Asian Games. But this will be the decision of the board," said Yenko. — Abac Cordero