ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider PBA chief glad with decent crowd turnout

PBA chief glad with decent crowd turnout

Published Dec 15, 2021 07:22 pm

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said he was surprised with the turnout of the first playdate held before a live crowd since the pandemic even as the league prepares for any eventualities following the first recorded cases of the Omicron variant in the country.

Marcial was pleased that expectations were exceeded Wednesday, Dec. 15 as 1,480 fans, half of the capacity allowed by the Quezon City government, attended the first set of games at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in almost two years.

“Nakakatuwa kung gaano sila kasabik at ganun din tayo kasabik na may fans kaya masarap,” Marcial told reporters in-between the two matches.

“Hindi ko aakalain na ganito kadami kaagad kasi siyempre natatakot pa sa COVID at siyempre magbabayad ka pa at gagastos ka pero nagrespond yung mga fans kaya nakakatuwa,” he added.

Despite the limited audience, the atmosphere evoked memories of the pre-pandemic times when the roar of the crowd would reverberate.

The first time loud cheers were heard was when Magnolia’s Calvin Abueva made a halfcourt heave at the buzzer to end the second quarter of his team’s 114-87 win over Terrafirma.

In the nightcap, TNT fans cheered the loudest, especially in the fourth quarter when their team tried to rally against NLEX, which ended up on the winning end with a 102-100 decision.

“Maririnig mo yung ingay, yung kantyawan, yung pinapagalitan mga referees. Yung hirap natin ito yung resulta,” the PBA commissioner said.

But the PBA’s return to one of its old stomping grounds came on the same day two imported Omicron cases, known to spread quickly compared to other variants, were recorded courtesy of two travelers from Japan and Nigeria.

Marcial acknowledged that the latest development could cause a setback for the league, especially with plans to hold games on Christmas around the corner.

He added that a decision on how the games can continue or possibly postponed in the event the situation gets worse will be made in conjunction with government guidelines. 

“Kailangan pa rin natin mag-ingat,” said Marcial. “Pag dumating ang panahon na yun, kung ano ang utos sa atin ng gobyerno. Kung tigil, tigil tayo. Kung semi-bubble, bubble-type. Nakahanda tayo kung papayagan tayo.

“Problema lang pag pinatigil tayo, tigil tayo. Pero hangga’t pinapayagan tayo at kung ano ang pwede nating gawin, gagawin natin.”

Related Tags

Omicron PBA Governors’ Cup Willie Marcial pba
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.