October 24, 1995
Web posted at: 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT)
From Correspondent Maria Ressa
MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- Filipinos are fanatic about basketball. The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), styled after the NBA, has been around for more than 20 years, and fuels Manila's basketball fever. (800K QuickTime movie)
"Everybody's crazy," said Jose Concepcion, PBA chairman. "They really watch the games. They wait for the opening. A lot of people buy the tickets way in advance, and the social talk is really practically about basketball." He should know. As head of the RFM, one of the Philippines' top food and beverage companies, he invests nearly $1.5 million in U.S. dollars each year for in championship team.
In the PBA, teams are named after products and business
rivalries are played out on the hard court. Concepcion's
team is the Sunkist Orange Juicers, after a brand his company
recently launched.
More than 30 percent of the Philippines' 65 million people watch the championship games. Sunkist has won two league titles and is bidding for its third -- what Filipinos call the "grand slam." That, Concepcion said, translates into advertising dollars and goodwill worth far more than the company's investment. "From an advertising point of view, you'll get it back, and Sunkist is a very good example. We launched the brand in six months in the Philippines. It's now the market leader," he said.
To make sure the excitement continues, and Filipinos continue
to watch, team owners try to make the game as exciting as
possible. Many say basketball is rougher in the Philippines,
with continuous action. And none know this better than the
imports, American basketball players hired by each of the
eight clubs to spice up the game. Stephen Smith, 23, said he
took the offer from Sunkist because of the pending lockout in
the NBA. Although the Filipino game is more physical, there
are things that make it attractive, including a tax-free
salary. "It's worth it," Smith said. "It's really worth it.
You know, they treat you like a king over here."
And with the excitement it stirs up, the Philippines' big-business basketball can translate into cash for the players, the teams, and their corporate owners.
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