A SIMPLE YET MEMORABLE SHOW
This more or less describes the opening of the PBA’s 2014 season, set this Sunday in three venues in three major regions of the country.
As the Philippines still reels from the devastation brought about by super typhoon Yolanda, PBA commissioner Chito Salud reminded all teams to remember more the victims of the tragedy.
“We will dedicate our simple opening rites to all of our kababayan who were affected by Yolanda. We want them to know that they are in our prayers and that the PBA will continue to be of help to them in the long road to normalcy,” said Salud in his official statement.
“Para sa kanila yung Linggo. Sana makapagdulot ng konting kasiyahan,” he added.
Salud likewise emphasized that some elaborate details of the opening ceremonies have been done away to keep the event simple and empathize with those affected by the super howler.
The league has earlier donated one million pesos to the relief efforts, while companies of its ten teams have also been busy with their own drives to help out unfortunate brothers and sisters down South.
More cause oriented programs are also being lined up through the league’s Alagang PBA program.
“The ferocity of competition they will see on opening day will in no way be reflective of our lack of understanding of what truly matters in life and sympathy for those impacted,” the league chieftain stressed.
“Rather, it will be a showcase of the brave hearts of our players who all want to serve as inspiration to our countrymen at this time,” added Salud.
Deviating from the usual, the PBA season opener will be staged in three different venues.
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Alaska Aces will be clashing in Davao, while the Meralco Bolts and Talk n’ Text Tropang Texters tangle in Cebu.
The four teams will parade simultaneously with the six other teams at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After the opening rites, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and San Mig Coffee Mixers will immediately collide at the Big Dome and the game will be beamed live over TV5.
The Rain or Shine-Alaska tiff in Davao will also be aired live on the same channel at around 5:15 p.m.
The game between Meralco and Talk n Text will be played at exactly the same time as the game in Manila, but will be aired on a delayed basis right after the coverage of the game in Davao. (SBadua)
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