IPI’s back!
Pardon the age, but if you followed basketball in the 1980s (when I was still a kid J), you’ll surely remember how a team called “Mama’s Love” gained nationwide popularity when they played in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL). In a Facebook of post of ex-Mama’s Love player, Larry Villanil, you’ll see him along with the likes of Jojo Lastimosa, Boy Cabahug, Titing Manalili, Jerry Aratan, Ricric Marata, Jesus Yuson, Danny Lastimosa, Jesus Yuson and current MPBL Head of Operations Zaldy Realubit in a team photo at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. The all-Bisaya team filled the rafters of the iconic stadium, drawing “homecourt” crowds of Cebuanos and Bisaya-speaking fans in Manila. Every Mama’s Love game seemed like a home game. And this was in the age when cellphones, Facebook, twitter and social media were non-existent. The team continued its operations, going around the country as a marketing tool to sell both its brand and basketball, later taking on the name of Casino Alcohol before slowly fading away. (Thanks to Army Marata for refreshing my memory on the Mama’s Love team.)
It’s 2018 and they’re back. IPI (International Pharmaceutical Inc.) is back to its basketball ways with the revival of its ballclub, the Cebu City Sharks which will carry the brand name of Casino Ethyl Alcohol in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). They are the only Cebu-based ballclub that’s joining the league, while the other new teams from the south are from Mindanao. When news about this surfaced, I’m sure it was music to the ears of Mama’s Love fans, ex-players and the IPI family. Will this bring back the old “Mama’s Love” phenomenon in Luzon? Will Cebuanos and the Bisaya-speaking fans go out and support the team? Since most of their games will be played in Luzon, will it be like those PABL days when Cebuano fans would go out and cheer for Mamas Love/Casino?
But why only IPI/Casino? Why didn’t other Cebu-based teams join the league? When the MPBL announced its expansion to include VISMIN teams, Cebu was certain to join and many were expecting the likes of M. Lhuillier, Cebuana Lhuillier and Cebu Landmasters to join the bandwagon. While we can only speculate for those that didn’t join, we also see factors behind IPI’s decision to join the MPBL. First, they wanted to make sure that it would be worth the P10M franchise fee, P200+K conference fee and annual operating expenses that won’t be cheap. Looking beyond this, the MPBL is a venue for brand-building of the Casino Ethyl Alcohol brand. The product is available nationwide, and since Casino is also identified with sports, this would make a right fit for the brand. My guess is that Casino’s brand managers have done their homework via UAI (Usage, Attitudes and Image) studies and have concluded that sports could be used a tool to help the brand. When teams were concerned about the lack of home games in Cebu, I don’t think Casino’s brand managers were too worried about that. The lack of home games would mean minimal chances to build a home-base following. But more games anywhere in the country also means more opportunities to increase brand awareness and equity for the brand in those different venues and on national TV over ABS-CBN’s Sports+Action. Luzon is also an opportunity area to increase sales for Casino as it’s more popular in the VISMIN area. They might be experiencing what I’d like to call the “pang VISMIN lang” identity, a phenomenon experienced by Cebu-based brands like Nature’s Spring and Virginia Food Inc: strong in the VISMIN but not yet a leader elsewhere. The MPBL exposure is thus seen as a vehicle to help increase sales in Luzon while additional sales in the VISMIN becomes a bonus.
The irony now is that there seems to be a move to bring more games of Luzon-based teams to the south, and it’s for the same purpose. The Luzon teams want to play in the VISMIN to give their brands extra reach and not just limit this to Luzon. If this movement becomes a reality, that will be great news. But the challenge here is to get ABS-CBN on board with the idea. As the league’s TV partner, the MPBL games can be aired on TV only where ABS-CBN can bring its TV production crew and equipment. Stretching to the VISMIN will mean the need to bring that same crew over. Note that S+A also has other sports events to cover; and these are more valuable to the network than the MPBL in terms of revenues, e.g. UAAP and NCAA. And I doubt if the MPBL is willing to invest in equipment needed for this purpose.
Other factors that are crucial in Casino’s joining the MPBL here aren’t basketball-related. I have a strong feeling that among the factors behind joining the MPBL is to also get Manny Pacquiao’s support for the boxing program of IPI/Omega Boxing Gym. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Omega Boxing Gym’s Jhack Tepora is fighting for the IBO world featherweight championship in the undercard of the Pacquiao vs. Mathysse fight card in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 15. Jhack has joined Pacquiao in the pre-fight events, including the separate launches in Manila and Kuala Lumpur. Joining the MPBL will hopefully also assure a partnership between MP Promotions and the Omega Boxing Gym/Omega Pro Sports International, IPI’s boxing arm. I don’t think this is part of the contract or MOA, but I’m certain that it’s written there somewhere between the lines.
The bottom line “other” (or major?) factor in this MPBL stint is IPI’s relationship with Manny Pacquiao, the endorser. The Pacman signed a contract to endorse the brand Omega Pain Killer, another product of IPI. “Dati tableta, pero ngayon Omega.” When Pacquiao signed up for this, I’m pretty sure he also asked IPI to support the MPBL. When the Pacman requests, who says no?
Good luck to the Cebu City Sharks/Casino Ethyl Alcohol and IPI. We hope that those good old Mama’s Love days come back when Jolas, BoyCabs and Zaldy had us Cebuano fans cheering. Yes, IPI’s back.
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