PBA in the time of SARS

While the world emphatically fights the war against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has its own S.A.R.S. Here they are:

S- Simulcast or Parallel Broadcast?

A simulcast simply means one coverage, one product, and carried by two or more stations. This is the idea behind the coverage of the yearly State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the President. On that day, it won’t really matter what channel you watch. Programs of all stations are pre-empted to make way for the speech of the President from Batasan Pambansa. Parallel broadcast also banks on one coverage, but multiple products on multiple stations. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is an example. ESPN and Star TV are its parallel broadcast carriers.

Currently, National Broadcasting Network (NBN) team is producing both PBA-NBN and PBA-IBC.

The look of PBA-NBN is more authoritative. Medium is 80% English and 20% Filipino, but 100% hoop talk. If you’re a fan who really loves basketball; you know the game and you want to know more; you enjoy the technicalities of the game and you want deeper analyses, tune in to NBN to satisfy your craving. Veteran PBA commentator Sev Sarmenta, UAAP play-by-play man Mico Halili, Cebu-find Sandi Geronimo, Coach Norman Black, Alex Compton, and the Dean, Quinito Henson compose the NBN panel. At courtside, the girls will give you huddle reports, aside from sidelights from the bench that cameras don’t normally reach. Chiqui Roa, Patricia Bermudez and myself are the viewers’ ticket to the intimate, exciting, and heated huddles during the games.

If you are into the game yet you want to know more trivia and tidbits about your favorite players outside the court, PBA-IBC is for you. Courtside reporters Mabel Reyes and Lala Roque will give you not huddle reports but interviews with exciting and interesting personalities in the venue. One of the regular features during halftime is the "fashion police" which talks about the players’ get-up, hairstyles, tattoos and accessories.

PBA-IBC carries the hip approach. It uses 60% Filipino and 40% English in its coverage. Making up the team are Paolo Trillo, Boom Gonzales and Vito Lazatin as anchors, and Leo Isaac, TJ Manotoc and Dominic Uy as analysts.

A- Abuzz

This is the word that best describes the PBA venues these days. Credit the PBA in-venue group for coming up with exciting activities for the live audience to enjoy. The voice recording welcoming everyone to the games is an innovative way to make the fans feel at home with the PBA. Along with the music, it creates a very festive atmosphere. The parlor games during quarter breaks are also fun to watch, especially now that even young girls are chosen to be contestants.

The newest treat for fans who troop to the venues is the "Fan of the Day." If your ticket is drawn, you may sit on the bench of your favorite team. Once chosen, you will have the privilege of listening in to the huddles, and going with the team to the dug-out for halftime break. Now that is heaven for any die-hard basketball fan! Imagine rubbing elbows with your idols, and being in the thick of the action! Aside from the experience, they also take home autographed shirts or basketballs and the PBA 25th Anniversary coffee table book.

R- Rookies

Another good thing about the PBA this season is the excellent showing of the rookies. Most of them are already playing like veterans – Alaska’s Mike Cortez and Brandon Cablay, Talk and Text’s Jimmy Alapag and Harvey Carey, Purefoods’ Billy Mamaril, Shell’s Ronald Tubid and Red Bull’s Enrico Villanueva. It’s been a while since the PBA was able to gather this much raw talent. And it’s such a treat to see these young guys already showing the basketball community what stuff they are made of.

S- Shabu, Ecstacy, Marijuana

Shabu is a white odorless crystal or crystalline powder with a bitter numbing taste. It is the street name for the chemical substance known as Methamphetamine. When taken, it produces anxiety, irritability, irrational behavior, talkativeness and loss of self-control. It also results in loss of appetite and inability to sleep. Ecstacy is also called "designer drug." Very popular among the youth today is this psychoactive drug (mind altering) with hallucinogenic and amphetamine-like properties. Effects include loss of sleep and appetite. A long-term effect could be as grave as permanent brain damage. Marijuana is a crude drug made from Cannabis sativa, a plant that contains a mind-altering ingredient called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). One uses it by rolling a joint and smoking it like a cigarette. It slows down the user’s mental and psychomotor activities. It impairs reflexes, coordination and concentration. It promotes disorientation.

Whether or not players fail the mandatory random drug-testing, the use of any of these drugs would unquestionably show on their bodies sooner than later. They can’t keep up with the game for long if they are habitual drug-users. This vice will definitely slow them down. Of course the PBA is staking a strong stand against prohibited drug users among its ranks. The league seems to be on its way to endearing itself to the public again, and it shouldn’t take this drugs issue lightly.

The move to submit everyone involved in the PBA to a mandatory drug-testing– from the Commissioner’s office down to the ball boys of every team– may sound a tad exaggerated. But it’s a strong statement that the league is taking to heart its battle against illegal drugs. Players should take the cue. Whether they like it or not, people look up to them. And more than anything, they should serve as good role models to the youth.

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