CWBL, ABS-CBN sign TV pact

MANILA, Philippines - The Country-Wide Basketball League (CWBL) will be covered by ABS-CBN Sports and Action.

The agreement for the exclusive coverage of CWBL games was signed by CWBL chairman Reynaldo Gamboa, and Antonio Ventosa, ABS-CBN head, Narrowcast & Access, and Dino Jacinto Lauren, head, Integrated Sports.

Under the agreement, ABS-CBN will show the CWBL games nationwide with an option for international broadcasting.

 CWBL, on its part, granted ABS-CBN exclusive marketing and promotion rights.

Gamboa said that both CWBL and ABS-CBN are committed to bring the games closer to local basketball fans and at the same time provide nationwide television exposure to the teams, players and corporate sponsors. “This joint effort to have more regular live games in various localities and combined with quality television exposure nationwide will change the complexion of organized basketball leagues in the country,” Gamboa said.

“The television component is critical to enable CWBL to achieve the objectives of providing much needed local and nationwide exposure to hundreds of players who have completed their collegiate playing years and still eager to develop and pursue productive basketball career,” Gamboa said.

ABS-CBN Sports+Action is gearing up for the promotion of the CWBL’s launching of the regular conferences in February, 2016.

Lauren said that the promotional activities in the coming months will introduce and feature the teams, the players and the localities being represented by the teams.

The CWBL board of trustees also announced the appointment of two key officials directly involved in organizing and managing the games, namely, vice-chairman Pablo de Borja, as league commissioner and Joe Lipa, as VP-GM for basketball operations.

Lipa said the CWBL conferences will only have a maximum of eight teams. “Definitely the league’s emphasis on regional focus supplemented by nationwide coverage on television would be beneficial to team owners and sponsors.