‘Healthier, better, vibrant PBA’

After the painstaking process of making all the changes, innovations and house-cleaning in the off-season, the Philippine Basketball Association finally unravels its 29th edition Sunday, hopeful the league’s new look and new beginning would lead to a better, healthier and more vibrant PBA.

"The PBA is back and back with a vengeance. We’re excited with all the changes, the new attitude and the new look we’ve got. We’re all set to unveil the new PBA and, with all the changes we’ve had, we’re looking forward to exciting, healthier and promising seasons ahead of us," said new PBA commissioner Noli Eala during the press conference launching the 29th PBA season at the Manila Hotel yesterday.

"We’ve been getting tremendous support from the fans all these years. To reciprocate all these loving and all these attention, the PBA board committed itself to support all the changes and innovations introduced by the Commissioner’s Office. In doing so, we hope the PBA to become a better league and a better form of entertainment," said board chairman Jun Cabalan in the same forum.

The 29th PBA season comes off the wraps Sunday with grand opening rites starting at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. A lone game pitting Alaska Milk and Sta. Lucia Realty ushers in the All-Filipino Cup in opening day at 6 p.m.

The season’s first double-header is set at the Philsports Arena on Feb. 26 with Shell taking on Talk N Text and Barangay Ginebra tackling Purefoods.

Red Bull, FedEx, Coca-Cola and San Miguel make their own debut on Feb. 28 at the Makati Coliseum with the Thunder and the Express clashing in the curtain-raiser and the Tigers and the Beermen colliding in the mainer.

Thirteen out-of-town games are on tap, starting with the Sta. Lucia-Ginebra tiff in Baguio on March 1. The All-Filipino elims will also visit Antipolo, Iloilo, Davao, Dumaguete, Cebu, Laguna, Pampanga, Lucena and, for the first ever, Bohol.

The All-Filipino elims alone run up to May 28 with the 10 teams, divided into two groups, playing double rounds. The top four teams in each group qualify for the quarterfinals. In the quarters, the four teams from each group play a single round with the top two teams in each group advancing to the best-of-five cross-over semifinal series. The winners clash in a best-of-seven finals series.

A fiesta atmosphere envelops the PBA with a celebration spiked with fun, entertainment and a dash of history in the week leading to the opening day.

A fashion show that will trace the fashion trends in the league from its beginnings in 1975 to present, and graced by its past and present stars, kicks off the festivities tomorrow at the Megastrip of the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong.

On Friday, a PBA concert will be staged at the Eastwood in Libis, Quezon City and will have the league’s players jamming with the country’s top bands.

The Megamall fashion show, which will have past and current stars serving as models, looks back to the fashion beginnings of the league in the 70s when skin-tight jerseys, skimpy shorts and canvas shoes were the "in" things in the league.

The benefit concert at Eastwood, on the other hand is tipped to be a fun eveningx with players like Asi Taulava, Rey Evangelista, Mike Hrabak, Patrick Fran and Joey Mente jamming with popular bands First Circle, Parliament Syndicate and Luke Mijares of South Border. The show begins at 6 p.m.

A motorcade around key spots in Metro Manila ushers in the Big Day on Sunday which will be followed by a mass attended by all the teams and league officials.

A mini-fair will also be held around the venue on opening day with team merchandise available at popular prices.

The formal opening of the 2003 season will be highlighted by the unveiling of the league’s 29th season logo to the tune of the new PBA jingle "Ito Ang Game Ko" to be sung by popular singer-actress Vina Morales.

Morales will emcee the festivities with Edu Manzano while performers include Karylle, RJ Rosales, the Whiplash Dancers and the San Beda Choir.

Meanwhile, the league announced that privilege membership cards are now open for renewal at special prices. PMCs for ringside seats are priced at P6,000, courtside seats at P4,500 and upper and lower box seats at P3,500.

Two ringside PMCs can be bought for a discounted rate of P10,000 while fans who get two PMCs for courtside, upper and lower box seats can avail of a P1,000 discount. For inquiries, call tel. nos. 6365320-21 and look for Gerry Mesias and Nestor Noblesjas.

Regular tickets can be bought at Ticketnet outlets.