PBA ON AKTV COVERAGE:PBA 37th SEASON, COMMISSIONER’S CUP 2012

GAME 7: B-MEG LLAMADOS VS TALK ‘N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERSMAY 6, 2012

BACKGROUND

In the second conference of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) under TV coverage partner AKTV, a new free TV sports block (by the ABC Development Corporation) aired locally on IBC 13, the said premier local pay-for-play league has seen tremendous growth in renewed interest and excitement.

Such a trend was prevalent especially in the Commissioner’s Cup conference, where two of the strongest teams – the Talk ‘N Text (or TNT) Tropang Texters and the B-Meg Llamados (formerly of the Purefoods franchise) collided in the Finals.

An exciting matching of wits between two of the league’s most loaded teams featured a chess match between off-the-court best friends and on-the-court rivals Coach Chot Reyes of Talk ‘N Text and Coach Tim Cone of B-Meg. B-Meg drew first blood in Game 1, stunning the defending conference champion Talk ‘N Text. But Talk ‘N Text regrouped, and got even in Game 2, equalizing the series.

Ever since, both teams alternated wins, heading into Game 7, the final game for this championship series:

Game 1: B-Meg – 88, TNT – 82 Game 2: TNT – 104, B-Meg – 102Game 3: B-Meg –91, TNT – 87 Game 4: TNT – 100, B-Meg – 85Game 5: B-Meg – 82, TNT – 66 Game 6: TNT – 92, B-Meg – 82

Exciting finishes ensued for most of the series. Different personalities were highlighted… For B-Meg, there was James Yap, their most popular player and known scorer, who had struggled most of the season to score big, but was finding his groove in this series. There was also Denzel Bowles, dubbed as “Monster Bowles”, the youngest import in this conference, whose maturity was questioned early on but has seemed to grow wiser and become deadlier in the finals.

Supporting Yap and Bowles were Marc Pingris, also known as “Sakuragi”. He was based on the protagonist from the anime series “Slam Dunk” (a less-than-skilled basketball player with boundless energy, who helped his underdog team succeed.) Like Sakuragi, Pingris was a huge motivating force for B-Meg. Unfortunately, he experienced a hand injury late in this series, limiting his performance and minutes. There was also Peter June (PJ) Simon, better known as “The Super Sub”, who’d be a spark plug offensively for the team many a time. There was also Yancy de Ocampo, a veteran rarely used in his previous outings, who became relevant again in the Finals. These and more composed the ragtag troupe of the B-Meg Llamados

B-Meg had a controversial start of the season, when long-time Alaska Aces coach Tim Cone suddenly left after more than 20 years, to explore greener pastures with B-Meg. Much was expected from this multi-titled coach joining a loaded team, aiming for a return to glory. However, in the first conference, they were badly beaten by the inspired underdog Powerade Tigers. From being the top team of that conference, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals despite a twice-to-beat advantage. That was a bitter pill to swallow, but a strong motivator for them to reach the championship in the second conference.

The Llamados were up against the perennial top dog of the PBA, the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters. They have been in the Finals for six consecutive conferences dating back to 2010. They were champions twice last season, only bowing down to the Petron Blaze Boosters in the third conference. Since then, they regrouped and became champions again in the Philippine Cup, and are aiming to defend last year’s Commissioner’s Cup title.

Talk ‘N Text has been an offensive powerhouse with a loaded line-up. The team had very talented guards in the form of skilled veteran leader Jimmy Alapag (who was going through the illness of two family members), and the young and seemingly-unstoppable Jayson Castro (who was battling through ankle injuries). It had the steady big man Ranidel de Ocampo, who was also deadly from the outside. There were also fearless and relentless defenders such as Jared Dillinger and Ryan Reyes (who overcame a sudden death in the family last year, to lead Talk ‘N Text to a championship).

Helping them out were other strong and energetic big men like Kelly Williams (who came back from a debilitating condition), Ali Peek (who survived a gunshot to his neck just recently), and Harvey Carey. More support came from the deadly “Baby-faced Assassin” Larry Fonacier, the high-leaping beanpole of a rookie Japeth Aguilar, the strong inside presence of their import Donnell Harvey, and the rest of their crew. Overcoming injuries and personal problems, the Tropang Texters have time and again proven their championship heart.

It turned out to be a highly-physical series and a match-up of basketball wits between the league’s most seasoned tacticians. It was a series full of hunger for glory, of mental toughness, of overcoming distractions and physical pain. For Coach Chot, it was a last stab at greatness, before he was to move over to coaching the national team at season’s end. For Coach Tim, it was fulfilling his mission of bringing a championship to his new team. For B-Meg, it was a return to splendour for this former champion team. For Talk ‘N Text, it was yet another validation that they were indeed the kings of this PBA kingdom.

This Game 7 turned out to be an exciting end to an equally engaging series. One that will forever be etched in the history of the PBA, and perhaps, basketball in general.

RATINGS AND RENEWED INTEREST

Many fans trouped to SMART-Araneta Coliseum, the venue for this finals series, to bear witness to this intense battle. More and more viewers started tuning in as the series progressed. Through the innovative coverage of the PBA on AKTV, ratings went through the roof comparatively for the PBA – one of the highest –rated games in recent history for the league.

This classic finals game is just part and parcel of the perceived renaissance that the PBA has been experiencing.

ELEMENTS

Since the start of the 2011-2012 season of the PBA, AKTV has introduced many new elements to the coverage, with the aim of making the PBA experience more exciting, engaging and interactive. Added technologies, as well as the return to a predominantly-Filipino delivery of the commentators, helped in achieving this goal.

The most glaring addition has been a studio show component call the “AKTV Center”. Taking its cue from sports shows like ESPN’s Sports Center and NBA on ABC, the AKTV Center comes in before the start, during halftime, and after each regular-scheduled games. The AKTV Center has featured a bevy of guests, from former and current basketball players, coaches, to even non-basketball personalities like football stars, to talk about the PBA and other topics of interest. More so, the AKTV Center has introduced an interactive component, where PBA fans could send their comments via Twitter, Facebook and text line, encouraging more opinions and discussions.

The AKTV Center also served to be a break in the on-going basketball action, with some light and humorous gimmicks. Studio anchors and guests were encouraged to let loose with segments like the AKTV Center Shootout, where they showed their skill in shooting hoops inside the studio. Popular players and coaches were given look-alikes from other famous personalities.

There were also some recurring segments like Dr. German Kaht’s Basketball Science, wherein a fake German scientist would explain in gibberish some details about sports and basketball, through not-so-serious scientific explanation. Also included in the regular cast of characters is a Kobe Bryant look-alike named Kobesaya (“Bisaya” is a group of people hailing from the southern region of the Philippines. As such, Kobesaya was a provincial spin to the popular player’s name)

For the actual game coverage, elements such as team huddle listen-ins and post-game press conferences provided a fuller experience of what went through the teams. Game Stories were developed, to provide for a more interesting narrative of each game and the development of each team and PBA personality. Themes of “Underdogs vs Heavyweights”, or “Heavyweight Battles” (the theme of the B-Meg vs Talk ‘N Text series) were developed, to further emphasize the “Kampihan na” (“Time to take sides”) theme of the coverage. More so, courtside reporters scooped up topics on and off the court about players and coaches. They also engaged more with the ever-increasing die-hard PBA fans.

CAST

The coverage of Game 7 of the 2012 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals involved a star-studded cast of commentators and courtside reporters.

In the AKTV Center, seasoned anchor Magoo Marjon facilitates discussions about the game, with other sports broadcasting veterans Atty. Rado Dimalibot and former basketball player Dominic Uy. A recent addition to the PBA coverage is former PBA Rookie-MVP (the only one in league history) and one of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players, Benjie Paras. Coming of a successful comedic stint in TV and the movies, he not only injects much humor into the discussions, but also discernment that only an elite player can provide.

Meanwhile in SMART-Araneta, play-by-play commentating is provided by Mico Hallili, arguably the most prominent basketball commentator in the Philippines today. Through adept story-telling and a welcoming approach to the game, he has been guiding local viewers through decades of countless memorable games.

Alongside Mico in the coverage is Quinito Henson, another veteran sports journalist considered to be an institution, when it comes to analysis. Seasoned from various sports coverage here and abroad, he provides much depth in breaking down facets of plays and the game itself.

Joining them is Jojo Lastimosa – a newbie to sports broadcasting, but is in no way a novice analyst. He is after all another of the PBA’s greatest players, who has won Rookie of the Year and 10 championships, including a rare grand slam, under current B-Meg coach Tim Cone. He likewise has had years of coaching experience as a member of Coach Tim’s staff. Known as the “Fourth Quarter Man”, “Jolas”, as he is fondly called, brings his unflinching candidness and insightful basketball smarts to the coverage.

Aiding them in gathering stories are three lovely courtside reporters. There’s Sel Guevara and Jessica Mendoza, who also are radio jocks on the side. They assisted in the story-telling of this memorable game by engaging with fans, interviewing players and coaches, and gathering stories on the side-lines. Completing their trio is Erika Padilla, who also does TV sitcoms and provides ice-breaking moments and fearless reports, such as her memorable dug-out interview during the eventual champions of this series.

For more information and media, check out http://pba.com.ph and http://interaktv.ph. You can also follow PBA on AKTV via Twitter (@PBAonAKTV) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/PBAonAKTV)

ENTRY CONTENT DETAILS:

Official entry is in condensed form/ a compilation. The total running time of originally-aired complete program was 3:48:23;23, without commercial breaks.

For the condensed entry/ compilation (under 30 minutes), select elements of the coverage were chosen, to best represent the scope of the program: parts involving heightened storytelling, courtside reports before, during and after the game, fan correspondences, social media messages, studio analysis and discussions, thematic game notes by play-by-play analysts, light and humorous studio gimmicks, within-the-game graphics, champion team’s speech, post-game dugout celebration, and key dramatic moments.

Jumps in the coverage are indicated by an upward-moving white flame transition. But the sequential order of segments still follows in chronological order.

Following the entry footage is the compiled 30” clip to be used in case of the entry being shortlisted