EVEN though brewing rivals Barangay Ginebra and Meralco will be playing for the PBA Governors’ Cup title, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial admitted it will still be difficult task to match the attendance record set two years ago between the two teams in their trilogy.
The two previous finals series between Ginebra and Meralco saw a banner number of spectators that watched the games including a record 54,086 fans that watched Game Seven of the 2017 Governors’ Cup finals at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
The league will return to the Philippine Arena for Games Six and Seven of the finals if the Gin Kings and Bolts reach that far. But Marcial acknowledged the league is hardpressed to repeat that record number.
“Kung itatanong mo sa akin kung mahihit natin ‘yung 54,000, sa akin, palagay ko mahihirapan na. One thing, nagbago na ang landscape dahil sa economics,” said Marcial.
Even after a record-setting mark at the Philippine Arena two years ago, the PBA has also been suffering from dwindling attendance at venues over the years. The league, however, has been enjoying success in ratings as well as social media presence with record number of viewers on its online platforms recently.
During the Philippine Cup finals won by San Miguel over Magnolia, Game Seven, according to the league, had 260,000 viewers on Facebook Live and watched an averaged of 57 minutes. The same game reached 5.6 million viewers online.
Marcial is banking on those same platforms online for the Ginebra-Meralco trilogy.
“At least, maraming chance na makapanood ‘yung iba. Pero mahirap na mahigitan ‘yung 54,000,” said Marcial.
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