A new beginning

It was another historic week for Philippine basketball. Thursday, the upgraded Pilipinas Super League held its season opener for the 2024 President’s Cup in spectacular manner at the Araneta Coliseum. The two-hour opening ceremony, hosted by yours truly and the brilliant Alexis Sy, culminated with a five-song set by the phenomenal Bamboo. A huge crowd stayed to watch the first game between NKT Sniper Cainta and Manila Citystars. Cainta led by 10 most of the way, but Manila came back and took its own 10-point lead. The game went down the wire, with the Citystars winning by one.

The thrillers continued over the weekend. It had probably been seven years since this writer had called a live game since inexplicably being taken off the NCAA broadcast panel back at ABS-CBN Sports. The adrenaline surge was a big reminder of why we all love the game so much. Ask any professional basketball coaches who’ve had a turn at broadcasting games, and they’ll tell you it’s harder to shake off the excitement. Hours after, you’ll find yourself unable to wind down if you aren’t used to it. That still rings true today. The second game of Saturday’s double-header saw the newcomer Alpha Omega Kings road back from 14 points down to take their first lead in the fourth quarter and score an upset over a championship-caliber Davao Occidental Tigers – Cocolife. It’s a great sign of the parity in a league that features a whopping 18 teams.

The league plays a single-round robin format in the elimination round, unheard of for a field of this size. The challenge of constantly preparing for a different opponent in a different venue is something coaches don’t face. You only get a chance at payback in the playoffs. The top 16 teams move on, with the top eight earning a twice-to-beat advantage. Same thing in the quarterfinals, where the top eight advance and the top four have the upper hand. The semifinals and finals become a home-and-away best-of-three. The President’s Cup is slated to end in March. Games are played five days a week, with Wednesday, Friday and Saturday matches televised live from 6 to 10 p.m. over IBC-13. So many players, coaches and team owners now have another chance to satiate their passion for the sport, earn a living, and make the fans happy.

What is also amazing is the impressive number of talented new sports broadcasters who have finally been given a platform for their skills. Of course, there are the experienced – older – guys, like yours truly, two-time PBA Most Valuable Player Benjie Paras, deeply experienced commentators like Randy Sacdalan, Sandi Grumo, the latter two household names in sports roadcasting in Cebu. You will also be reintroduced to names familiar from other leagues, but who have now found a home in the PSL. Lastly, a batch of eight trained courtside reporters will each give you a different perspective on the games, being closer to the action.

Having been part of the coverage teams of many leagues that have either taken off and waned, from the Philippine Basketball Association to the Philippine Amateur Basketall League to the Metropolitan Basketball Association, both collegiate leagues and others, I can tell you that there’s a different feeling about the PSL and its TV group, Nudge Productions. Things fit like a glove, a comfortable place, a familiar setting. Like home, devoid of the politics that plague many other pro and even amateur leagues. People are treated well, suggestions are listened to. There’s a singular focus: to all become better. That’s a refreshing, painfully rare atmosphere to have in a league and on a broadcast team. These are the elements that give a new league chance to endure, sustain itself, and make a mark in Philippine basketball.