PBA rakes in P39M at the gates

MANILA, Philippines - The PBA re-staked its claim as the country’s premier sports entertainment as it posted a whopping P39 million earnings from ticket sales in the just concluded Philippine Cup that featured Talk N’ Text and Powerade in the finals.

The figure indicated a three percent increase from last year’s take for the same conference which featured the league’s four most popular ball clubs – Talk N’ Text, Petron, Barangay Ginebra and B-Meg – in the semifinals and the championship series. Last year’s All-Filipino conference grossed P38 million.

“This is very encouraging for the league. And we owe it to our fans, they are the barometer of our success. The success of the Philippine Cup is a testament that the fans enjoyed watching the games. Hopefully, we will have another banner year,” said PBA chairman Mamerto Mondragon.

He also assured the fans of more exciting games and playoffs in the upcoming Commissioner’s Cup, which starts Friday, with a slew of top caliber imports, most of them with NBA experience, to spice up the tournament.

Willie Marcial, the league’s media bureau chief and assistant to the commissioner, also revealed that the total gross sales of the just concluded conference is nine percent higher as compared to the league’s projected target earnings of P36 million.

“We would like to emphasize that the split of games during the semifinals helped boost the conference’s gate receipts and attendance but more importantly, it provided a well-deserved exposure for the two powerhouse contenders (Talk N’ Text and Petron) and the two upcoming teams (Powerade and Rain or Shine),” Marcial said.

“AKTV, our coveror, is upbeat and has agreed to do it again during the semifinals of the second conference. We just have to make certain that our traditional game venues (Smart Araneta Coliseum and Cuneta Astrodome) can accommodate the daily schedule,” he added.

Marcial said this year’s Philippine Cup drew 340,000 fans at the turnstiles, matching the 2011 AFC total gate attendance.

The Talk N’ Text Tropang Texters defeated the Powerade Tigers in five game of their scheduled best-of-seven titular series to become the first team in 27 years to repeat as All-Filipino champion.