PingPod: the new way to play

One of the greatest challenges for weekend warriors and true athletes alike is finding a regular place to play, knowing if its vacancy matches your schedule, dealing with inept gatekeepers to venues. Particularly now, with a great explosion of basketball, pickleball, padel and tennis, among other sports, gyms and arenas are in such great demand that it can be discouraging just looking for the ideal, most convenient place to play, particularly with astronomic gas prices and paralyzing traffic. Six-time Philippine national table tennis champion Ernesto Ebuen has found a way to ease the burden of habitual athletes, not just in his sport, but in others, too.

“We wanted to innovate the sport of table tennis,” says Ebuen, the co-founder of PodPlay Technologies, which provides a seamless service for those looking for a place to play their favorite sport. “Table tennis is a very long-standing sport, not just in the Philippines, but also all over the world. In this age, what came to mind first was table tennis plus technology. We wanted to make it accessible to everyone.”

In New York, perhaps the ping pong capital of America, Ebuen and two partners first created PingPod. The pioneering autonomous concept is an app which gives freedom to all those seeking a place to play any time, day or night. Primarily, PingPod has self-contained venues (12 already in New York) wherein you could book, enter and play. The venues are clean, safe and provide privacy. On top of that, they provide water and other beverages, snacks, and even extra paddles, in the event that someone forgot theirs. The innovation grew like wildfire in New York. Now, it is coming to the Philippines.

In partnership with Kosmas Athletic Ventures Corporation, PodPlay is developing its own venues with the upcoming sports complexes, wellness centers and recreation hubs now being built. Kosmas will also run basketball, volleyball, pickleball and football leagues in these state-of-the-art venues. PodPlay will thus have an avenue to expand to bigger playing fields, adapting their app beyond table tennis. In the future, anyone will be able to play their favorite sport using technology, free of human error or interference.

In an even bigger leap forward, PodPlay blankets its venues with cameras. In case of a contested point (or simply for bragging rights), a player can have an instant replay of a selected play of point. The video record also protects both parties, and provides a safeguard against vandalism and other human hazards.

Curiously enough, the PingPod branches in the US and Europe have found another use. More and more people seem to be using their bookings to hold meetings, work, and even date. PingPod provides a customizable place for one to do what they need to do, without the noise and distractions of coffee shops, offices and malls.

The future seems limitless for PodPlay, because of its flexibility and ease of use. In a country that masters technology quicker than the rest of the world, the Philippines will undoubtedly become a leader in using the apps to book, play and pass on the word. And that is rare, indeed.

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Catch the latest episode of Basketball Universe PHL tonight on YouTube and Facebook.