Exactly 48 years ago, the Philippine Basketball Association played its first-ever game in front of 18,000 fans at the Araneta Coliseum.
The first-ever game? A match between Marisawa-Noritake and Concepcion Carrier.
Since then, Asia’s first-ever pay-for-play league has had thousands of games, created thousands of jobs, and delivered countless memories.
Exactly 17,532 days since the league opened, the PBA has returned at the now-SMART Araneta Coliseum. Today marked Game One of the 2023 PBA Governors Cup Finals that pitted Ginebra and TNT.
And the league continues to draw as 11,580 watched the game live on Easter Sunday.
PBA chairman Ricky Vargas could not help but marvel at how many young aspirants were inspired by the league, not just to play locally but also abroad.
“Over the past four decades, the PBA has played a significant role in the development of basketball, inspiring generations of players to pursue their dreams of playing for their country and overseas,” said Vargas, who is in his fifth year as league chairman.
“Outside the court, the PBA continues to encourage positive change by promoting values such as family, camaraderie, teamwork, and drug-free communities.”
The league has gone through a lot during the past 48 years.
Despite facing competitors, team bankruptcies, scandals, an impasse, and even a pandemic, the PBA continues to do what it does best – entertain.
“I would like to express my gratitude to all the team owners for keeping the PBA alive, even during the most challenging times of the pandemic,” said the governor of TNT, expressing his gratitude to the officials of San Miguel, Ginebra, Magnolia, Meralco, NLEX, Rain or Shine, Phoenix Super LPG, Converge, Northport, Blackwater, and Terrafirma.
“Without these 12 team owners and governors who sit on the board, we would not have been able to survive the pandemic. Salamat sa mga fans, atin ito.
“To the men and women who make the PBA possible, including our Commissioner, the PBA staff, and TV5, kayo ang dahilan kung bakit pa rin nandito ang PBA,” he closed.
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The 2023 PBA Governors Cup Finals is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
