Mad scramble for tickets

The hottest grab in town is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) ticket and another sellout is expected when San Miguel Beer faces Red Bull in a winner-take-all Game 7 showdown tomorrow night at the Araneta Coliseum for the right to play Barangay Ginebra in the finals.

In the last four playdates, the attendance has averaged 15,466 paying customers. The peak was registered last Sunday with a conference-high 18,377 fans jamming the Big Dome.

PBA executive assistant to the commissioner and media bureau chief Willie Marcial said an additional 800 tickets were put on sale at the last minute to accommodate the horde of fans waiting in line for hours at the box office. Sunday’s double Games 6 eclipsed the previous high of 17,875 posted in Games 3 of both semifinal series the week before.

PBA commissioner Noli Eala went straight from the airport to the Big Dome to catch Sunday’s slambang twinbill. He arrived with Philippine Long Distance Tel. Co. chairman Manny Pangilinan and PBA chairman Ricky Vargas from an overnight trip to Bangkok where they met FIBA (Federation Internationale de Basketball) secretary-general Patrick Baumann and FIBA-Asia secretary-general Dato Yeoh Choo Hock.

Fans queued for tickets as soon as the booth opened in the morning and over a thousand were turned away when the box office closed. The general admission, upper box and lower box sections were packed to capacity an hour before the 4 p.m. tip-off.

Inside the coliseum, it was standing room only.

Legendary US college coach George Raveling, who came to observe how the game is played here in the course of an Asian trip as Nike director of global basketball, was in the crowd and marveled at the fans‚ enthusiasm. He saw for himself how Filipinos love the game with a passion.

Raveling, 69, coached 22 years in the NCAA for Washington State, Iowa and the University of Southern California. He was an assistant coach for the US team at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.

Also in the building was boxing manager Michael Aldeguer, whose father Tony owns the fabled ALA stable of Cebu. Aldeguer accompanied Z Gorres and Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista who are seeing action in a big Cebu card on Feb. 24. Gorres takes on World Boxing Organization superflyweight champion Fernando Montiel of Mexico while Bautista battles Colombian Feider Viloria in a pair of 12-rounders.

Other visitors were Philippine Davis Cupper Cecil Mamiit, his father Cesar, coach Martin Misa and Randy Villanueva. Mamiit, Eric Taino, P. J. Tierro and Johnny Arcilla make up the Philippine squad that meets Pakistan in the Davis Cup at the Rizal Memorial courts starting Friday.

Marcial said the PBA isn’t just breaking attendance records. Ratings for TV’s "iPBA" with controversial host Asia Agcaoili (3:30-4 p.m., Sundays, ABC-5) and radio’s Astig Radyo (11 a.m.-12 noon, Saturdays, Energy Radio 91.5 FM) are zooming, too.

"Shocking" Asia’s program treats the PBA players like showbiz celebrities as she uncovers their loves, inhibitions and secrets. Fans can’t get enough of Asia’s exposes. Then there’s the high-octane pair of Magoo Marjon and "Sergeant" Mark Luzon who host the one-hour radio no-holds-barred live talk show featuring popular guests.

An exciting innovation, added Marcial, is the real-time coverage of PBA games in the internet, using the radio commentary for website streaming. Fans all over the world are able to tune in and listen to a play-by-play account of every game as it happens. Former PBA cagers Joey Santamaria, Jolly Escobar, Sonny Cabatu and Nandy Garcia are among the radio commentators.