Hoops fans’ long wait ends
THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is well on its way to ending a six-month forced lull and on top of the players shaking off the rust of inactivity, the fans have all the reason to rejoice.
For six months, reruns of the PBA’S games in the previous seasons and those in Youtube provided temporary relief to the rabid Filipino fans’ craving for homegrown hoops action.
Now, their wait is over.
“I really miss the PBA since the lockdown especially the games of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, my favorite team since when I was young,” 40-year-old Edgar Cedilla, a supervisor at the Jentec Cold Storage in Pasig City, told Businessmirror.
Cedilla said the cancellation of the PBA’S 45th season because of the Covid-19 pandemic forced him to settle for Ginebra highlight games on Youtube.
“The living legend, Robert Jaworski, Marlou Aquino and Mark Caguioa are my idols. I don’t get tired watching their games over and over again,” he said.
Wilhelmer Fabul, 39, an Architecture graduate at the Manuel Luis Quezon University who now works as a designer, is also a die-hard Ginebra fan.
“I always watch PBA games on TV— besides the NBA [National Basketball Association]. The excitement every game brings entertains me,” said Fabul, who goes to Youtube for his favorite games while on break from work.
“I believe the return of the PBA will lessen the stress and sadness brought by this pandemic,” added Fabul, who is hoping to see his idol Caguioa win a championship in his remaining years in the league.
“I’m so excited to see the return of the PBA,” he stressed.
A former national youth player in the 1090s, Allen John Deles, who worked as a field merchandiser before the pandemic, said he is longing for local basketball action.
“It comforts me watching the PBA, you see the passion and heart of the players and the die-hard fans supporting their teams,” said Deles, who idolizes San Miguel Beer’s four-time Most Valuable Player Ramon Fernandez and six-time Most Valuabe Player June Mar Fajardo.
“I love to see a natural Filipino big man who can move fast and dribble the ball well,” he said, referring to the two PBA greats.
For 42-year-old entrepreneur Juke Palanca, he missed the competitive nature of the game.
“You go home from work and look forward to the games to remove your stress. But Covid-19 ruined this routine,” Palanca said. “I miss Paul Lee’s step back jumper.”