Innovative PBA schedule

You’re probably wondering why the PBA scheduled only one game yesterday and one game today to start the Philippine Cup semifinals. It’s actually by design. Since each game in both series can stand alone as a crowd drawer and to give every contest its deserved attention, PBA commissioner Chito Salud thought of an innovative concept where the first four games in both series will be played alternately day after day.

Yesterday, it was Game 1 of the Rain Or Shine-Powerade series at the Cuneta Astrodome. Tonight, it’s Game 1 of the Talk ‘N’ Text-Petron series, also at the Cuneta Astrodome. Tomorrow, it will be Game 2 of the Rain Or Shine-Powerade series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. On Saturday, it will be Game 2 of the Talk ‘N’ Text-Petron series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The alternating sequence will continue until Game 4 of the Rain Or Shine-Petron series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum next Tuesday and Game 4 of the Talk ‘N’ Text-Petron series the day after at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

If more games are necessary, the remaining schedule will be doubleheaders on Friday, Jan. 13, Sunday, Jan. 15 and Wednesday, Jan. 18. No matter how long both series extend, Game 1 of the Finals will be on Friday, Jan. 20, in Digos City, Davao del Sur. Game 2 will be on Monday, Jan. 23. If it reaches Game 7, the clincher will be on Friday, Feb. 3, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The second conference or Commissioner’s Cup will start Feb. 10.

In another innovation, AKTV has put up a pre-game show for the semifinals up to Games 4 of both series. It was launched yesterday with Mico Halili, Jason Webb and Richard del Rosario sharing their views in a lively three-way discussion preceding and following Game 1 of the Rain Or Shine-Powerade series. The format resembles what the NBA does and is a welcome addition to the PBA TV format which now includes such other innovations as the post-game interview with the winning coach in the press room, direct interviews with players by the venue TV panel at halftime and post-game, courtside interviews with celebrities, fans and interesting personalities and quarter-by-quarter reviews at halftime. From all indications, the TV ratings are up this season with the quality of play and production at possibly its highest level ever.

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If the Philippines sends 10 or less athletes to the London Olympics this year, it will be the smallest contingent ever by the country since 1936 when 29 wore the national colors. So far, only lightflyweight boxer Mark Anthony Barriga and long jumper Maristella Torres have qualified.

More boxers will try to book tickets at the Asian qualifying tournament for men in Astana, Kazakhstan, on March 30-April 8 and the Women World Championships in Chongqing, China, on May 21-June 10. Taekwondo has failed to qualify a single jin by merit and will now hope to secure an unused qualification slot but that depends on the World Taekwondo Federation.

It is mandatory for each country to send at least a male and female for athletics and swimming. Because of this requirement, the Philippine delegation will increase to five, including Barriga. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Philippines was represented by two athletes in taekwondo, diving and athletics apiece, five in swimming and one in archery, boxing, shooting and weightlifting each.

Sprinter David Nepomuceno was the lone Philippine athlete to carry the tri-colors at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Then, there were four in 1928. The largest contingent was in Tokyo in 1964 when there were 52 Filipino competitors – 14 in athletics, six in boxing, four in cycling, four in gymnastics, four in judo, eight in shooting, two in swimming, four in weightlifting and six in yachting. That year, Anthony Villanueva brought home a silver in featherweight boxing.

Philippine Olympic Committee first vice president and London Olympics chef de mission Manny Lopez said Filipino standbys for unused qualification tickets in six sports may send in their applications before Jan. 16, the deadline for the Tripartite Invitation Places (TIPs), formerly known as the wildcards. Since the Philippines is not qualified to avail of wildcards, the only way to enter athletes into the Olympics outside of merit is to replace qualifiers who drop out. And under Olympic rules, replacements of qualifiers will be accepted only in boxing, taekwondo, fencing, sailing, wrestling and cycling.