PBA gate receipts up in elims

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Basketball Association is on track for another highly successful season with a hike in gate attendance, gate receipts and TV rating in the elimination phase of the Philippine Cup.

PBA commissioner Chito Salud yesterday reported a 20-percent increase in attendance and 10-percent increase in receipts compared to the same period last year.

AKTV Sports manager Vito Lazatin, meanwhile, announced steady improvement of the league’s TV viewership.

“We believe PBA fans who watch the games are going home very happy with their expectation met if not exceeded,” said Salud.

“Few months into the season and so far so good. TV rating is steadily improving and that’s because we’re seeing games that are exciting and thrilling,” Lazatin said.

Two months into their partnership with the PBA, Lazatin believed they have managed to heighten the Filipinos’ interest in the PBA games with the help of the sports channel’s successful “Kampihan Na!” campaign.

“It’s an important element to promote PBA. We compel fans to watch more and choose side. In every game, there’s always a side and we compel the fans to pick their team. That’s the rationale of ‘Kampihan,’” Lazatin said.

“So far, it’s going according to plan. It’s working and the PBA is right there at the forefront of our campaign,” added Lazatin.

AKTV is the primetime sports block on IBC 13, airing various sports programs like the PBA D-League, United Footbal League and Pacific X-Treme Combat.

The B-Meg Llamados-Ginebra Kings match was one of the most watched games, attracting a crowd of nearly 15,000. It’s also the second highest watched game on television based on Nielsen Media Ratings’ NUTAM data.

PBA and AKTV officials expect gate attendance and TV viewership to pick up even more with the Philippine Cup playoffs about to start.

Quarterfinal seedings will be finalized as Talk n Text tangles with Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine tackles Alaska Milk at the close of the elims tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Texters are chasing the top seeding while the Kings and the Elasto Painters are jockeying for position in the two best-of-three quarterfinals pairings.

The quarterfinal round begins Wednesday.