THOUGHTS | THE PBA ARENA

THIS WAS DONE WITH A.I.

The PBA will reportedly have a home, and it's actually just a bus ride away from EDSA.

Or a jeepney ride, Grab, taxi, or whatever.

Now, the only reasons I'd hate this are if traffic turns into a bitch, gas prices get too high, or I end up with a bum stomach, considering that I live around the Fairview area. And between 3 PM and 7 PM, plenty of rowdy drivers are hell-bent on getting out of that vehicle logjam.

But personal issues aside, this would be a great way to introduce Commonwealth Avenue to a whole new set of people who aren't just going home, studying at UP, going to Iglesia ni Cristo, exercising their right to rally in front of the Sandiganbayan, attending Mass at St. Peter's, or, for some reason, having a shopping shindig at Ever Gotesco Commonwealth.

As I said, I know the area.

The point is that its prospective home will be along a highway with five lanes on each side. Sure, traffic will be, ahem, a bitch again, especially if the arena is right at that TechnoHub U-turn or somewhere near PHILCOA. But the possibility of solving the problem of empty seats in the arena is a sure thing.

I've said this in my previous blogs: the problem I have with the Ninoy Aquino Stadium is that you have to travel there just to watch a basketball game and nothing else. Sure, there are malls around the area, but if you check out the PBA games online, the games that draw the biggest crowds are the ones held at either the Araneta Coliseum or the Mall of Asia Arena.

I mean, why go out of your way to visit NAS when you can simply wait for games to be played at venues that are easily accessible via the MRT? For those criticizing the fan-less arenas, well, you'd either have to be a die-hard fan, live nearby, or be a loved one of a player to find the commute to that area worthwhile.

And I have nothing against the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. As a child of the '90s, it's awesome to see how it has evolved into a TV-friendly venue compared to what it was back then.

That said, the fans aren't coming. Yes, there's an LRT station nearby, but I think the MRT is the better option because its stations were built to serve major thoroughfares. I mean, Taft Avenue has only four lanes, and during rush hour, you also have to consider how public transportation after an LRT ride can turn into a circus, whether you're driving or relying on other modes of transportation to get there.

And for me, it's just too far.

You ride the MRT, and you're basically delivered straight to the Araneta Coliseum. At the southern end of the MRT, there are plenty of public transportation options available to take you to SM MOA. No taxi driver will complain about taking you to MOA because they can always head to the mall area to pick up prospective passengers.

And if you go northbound, especially when you get off at one of the MRT's last four stations, you can find plenty of vehicles that can take you to Commonwealth Avenue.

There's also a chance that the arena's inauguration could coincide with the inauguration of MRT Line 7.

Anyway, I don't really care about the empty seats when it comes to the haters claiming that the MPBL has more fans than the PBA. That is, unless each of these fans knows the rosters of every MPBL team beyond those of Abra, Quezon, San Juan, and the league's other top teams.

I've seen a Parañaque versus Quezon City game. The MPBL has more than 20 teams, 14 of which are based in Metro Manila or its surrounding areas. Don't tell me these venues are packed to the rafters every single time the home team plays.

Still, it's bad optics for the PBA, especially if you're a foreigner looking for some basketball action.

If Filipinos are that addicted to basketball, then what's with the empty seats?

Well, for me, it comes down to the farm teams. The more teams without championships the PBA has, the more people can claim that the league is in dire straits. For me, it's all about having a more balanced level of strength among the rosters, but that's another topic.

Anyway, if this arena is indeed going to be the PBA's "home," the league can also spruce it up to make a fan's trip there worthwhile. How about creating a merch store inside the arena? And I'm not talking about just a kiosk. How about setting up shop in one big room filled with PBA annuals, jerseys, bags, and whatever else fans might want to buy?

Sure, we're in the age of online shopping, but nothing beats a physical store where the public can see, try, and test the items they're buying.

Also, the PBA can have greater control over how its games are televised. For years, the league has tried to dim the lights to hide the empty seats in the stands. That said, there's only so much it can do.

I also know that the PBA has said it will still hold important games at the Araneta Coliseum and MOA Arena. UP and the PSC will also use the facilities from time to time as part of their partnership with the league. At least there will be a big function hall in that part of the area as well.

If the big venues aren't available and the PBA can't rely on other venues because the games are scheduled at such short notice or the facilities are rendered unplayable after a thunderstorm damages the roofing, then having a home base that fans can count on would be important.

And maybe this is a chance for the league to design the walkways with photos and memorabilia highlighting important moments in PBA history.

It would be awesome if they had a statue in front of the arena, designed by UP alumni, featuring Robert Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez either defending each other or doing their iconic high-five after The Franchise passed the ball to The Big J, who then sank a dramatic game-ending triple.

And I guess if I had to choose between them, I'd go with The Big J. I know you could always go with multiple MVP winners like Fernandez, Alvin Patrimonio, and June Mar Fajardo, but in terms of name recognition, historical importance, and popularity, Jawo will always be the guy who helped make the PBA the household name we know and love today.

He's a multiple-time Olympian who helped turn Ginebra into the crowd darlings they are today. Throughout the league's first 25 years, he was instrumental as a player, coach, and league ambassador.

Basically, the PBA needs to transform the arena into a space that would pimp up the importance of Philippine basketball.

The biggest suggestion I see online is that the PBA needs to adopt a home-and-away format. While this sounds good, my question is this: Which cities would adopt Ginebra or the other SMC teams? And would other cities accept Terrafirma, Titan Ultra, or Blackwater as their own?

Moreover, would the city governments help promote the league? In that case, would this arrangement kill the MPBL?

The MPBL survives because big cities need teams to represent them. That said, even if, for example, the SMC teams target the SLEX side and the MVP teams go for the NLEX side, there would still be at least four teams from each side occupying the Metro Manila area, with probably at least two independent teams also falling within this sphere.

Sure, the MPBL would effectively become a second-tier professional league, as it arguably already is, but the question is whether its top teams would get the chance to join the PBA as expansion franchises or simply disband altogether because their respective cities already have basketball teams to support.

The PBA has yet to pull the trigger on this, but while I'm all for its new venue, I can't say I'm not ecstatic about this possibility.

I mean, if you ask ChatGPT which leagues around the world don't have city-based teams, the list would be extremely short.

Nonetheless, having its own arena in the heart of the metro would be good for the PBA. Yes, switching to a city-based format is still the most surefire way to bring people to the venues, but at least having its own arena would give the league greater control over how fans experience PBA games, especially when the teams playing are those with the smallest fan bases.