Photo by INQUIRER.net’s Noy Morcoso lll
MANILA, Philippines – Tickets for Friday’s games of the Fiba Asia Championships were sold out Thursday afternoon as fans withstood long queues and website glitches amid the mad rush.
Hoops fanatic Patrick Delos Reyes said on Twitter that he spent two hours in line at the Mall of Asia Arena ticket booth just to get his hands on tickets for the quarterfinals.
But before he could even reach the counter, tickets for Friday’s evening session were no longer available.
“Sold out. Crazy fans. They had full support. I didn’t get any tickets for tomorrow but it was fun hearing some fans’ stories,” Delos Reyes said in Filipino.
But lengthy lines weren’t the only thing fans endured as most patrons also had a hard time accessing SM tickets’ official website, where purchasing was being made since this morning.
“Your website is down and your hotline is always busy. How can I buy tickets for tomorrow’s game?” said one tweet to @smtickets.
INQUIRER.net also tried calling the ticketing network’s official hotline (470-2222) but the line was either busy or no customer service representative was picking up the call.
A representative from SM Tickets’ branch at SM Fairview, meanwhile, told INQUIRER.net that only general admissions tickets for Saturday’s game while lower, upper and gen ad sections for Sunday were available.
With the high demand for tickets, the significant increase in prices for the knockout phase did not seem to dampen the fans’ interest.
In fact, Delos Reyes still purchased tickets for Saturday’s semifinal games even without the assurance that the Philippine team would be in the final four.
“We took the risk. I got faith in Gilas. Laban Pilipinas!” Delos Reyes said. “This is a once in a basketball fan’s lifetime [opportunity].”