Big Dome fans pay record P1.5 M for Sunday contest

Say hello to the new box-office kings of the Philippine Basketball Association.

Proving that balance in almost every aspect exists in the PBA, the current best-of-seven series for the Commissioner’s Cup between Red Bull and San Miguel is breaking box-office records and is poised to rake ’em in some more.

Four games into the rugged series and with the promise of the showdown going all the way to a Game 7 looming, the Finals between the defending champion Beermen and the young Thunder has already eclipsed the record established during the slambang All-Filipino.

A huge crowd of 15,467 filled up every nook and cranny available at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday night, as fans paid a total of P1,546,290 to watch the Beermen put the series back to where it started with an 88-72 victory.

The average warm bodies in attendance after four games in the series climbed to 10,019, bettering the 7,824 the All-Filipino set for same span. That figure represents a money value of P1,101,282, compared to the P1,028,013 which the AFC made in the first four games.

All-time marks in attendance were established during the All-Filipino Cup Finals between San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra, as 9,665 people watched the games live and an average of P1,172,841 worth of tickets were sold.

And with the remaining three games of the series scheduled at the Big Dome in Cubao, the league may well yet create a new standard in attendance at the rate the current series is being flocked.

The Commissioner’s Cup Finals has so far made P4,405,125, close to P300,000 better than what the All-Filipino made in the first four games.

As a whole, the 2001 season has also made an improvement in attendance of close to 20 percent compared to the same span last year.

"We thank all the fans for their effort in making this series, and this tournament for that matter, a huge success," said officer-in-charge Renauld Barrios.