Shell launches website

Last Monday, Shell officially launched its Turbochargers website and became the first Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) club to reach out to fans through the internet.

Team manager Bobby Villarosa said the website (www.turbochargers-pba.com) initially hit cyberspace about two months ago but wasn’t officially launched until the pages were cleared for public viewing. So far, the website has registered over 5,000 hits–an indication that fans are zoning in on the Turbochargers.

The website was created by former PBA chairman Rey Gamboa’s son Dennis who works out of Soccor, an information technology consulting company. Gamboa’s done a fine job in building an interactive system that’s–believe it or not–updated every hour. It’s difficult enough to update every day but every hour? In the website’s trivia contest, questions are changed every hour–meaning super close monitoring–and you’re informed either by e-mail or cellphone if you hit the mark on your answers within 24 hours. And it’s easy to hook up. The questions are based on information provided by the website so you don’t have to look far for the answers. Prizes include basketballs, stickers, caps, T-shirts, and other Turbochargers merchandise. All in the spirit of fun, of course, as website editors promise every one who joins the contest is a winner.

On the home page, the website highlights the day’s top story. There’s also the team’s schedule of games so you know when and where to catch the action. More information is available when you click on the website’s different sections like team profile (a review of Shell’s championship history and outlook for the 2002 season), players (bios of each Turbocharger, including imports), spectacular plays (five videos taken from a 2001 Commissioner’s Cup game between Shell and Pop Cola, featuring import legend John Best), coach’s corner (something about Perry Ronquillo, PBA rules, court dimensions, and hoop basics), fans’ corner (Villarosa said this will evolve into a question-and-answer type of interaction), and more.

For numbers buffs, the website provides boxscores of every Shell game during a conference. So you can check out how your favorite player fared.

You’ll also be tuned in to the latest developments at the Shell camp. For instance, a two-day "basketbolan klinik" was recently held for children of Shell employees with several Turbochargers–including Ski Jones, Rensy Bajar, and Rainier Sison–sharing their expertise. You’ll be introduced to Shell’s country manager Ely Santiago and Roberto Kanapi, General Manager of External Affairs and recently appointed to the PBA Board of Governors. And if you’re wondering who were picked by Shell in this year’s rookie draft, there’s a story on that, too.

Now, if you’re interested to learn about Shell’s various products like Velocity, Helix, Rimula, Shellane, and others, you can click on the corresponding icon that will lead you to an FAQ site where just about everything anyone wanted to know about a particular item is laid out.

Congratulations to Shell for bringing the Turbochargers and PBA fans smack into the exciting world of cyberspace.

Postscript. Don’t fail to watch the "bad blood" showdown on Viva Vintage Sports IBC-13 at 10 this morning. It’s the much-awaited rematch between World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight champion Erik (El Terrible) Morales and challenger Marco Antonio Barrera at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In their first encounter two years ago, Morales survived a 12th round knockdown to score a disputed split decision. Barrera is a 9-5 favorite to end the unbeaten Morales’ reign. In the undercard, World Boxing Organization (WBO) superflyweight titlist Pedro (Rockero) Alcazar of Panama defends his crown against WBO flyweight ruler Fernando (Cochulito) Montiel of Mexico. Both are undefeated and promise a fight to the finish.