PBA game day at Philippine Arena on Christmas Day. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
BOCAUE, BULACAN—Even with the right games slated on the perfect day, the Philippine Basketball Association failed in its bid to reset the all-time live attendance record established in this same Philippine Arena two seasons ago.
No official count was released as of this writing, but in a talk with a venue official during the first quarter of the Barangay Ginebra-Star game, the man, who politely declined to be identified, said that the “generous estimate” of last night’s crowd would be in the 20,000-23,000 range.
Should that be true, that number would be less than half of the 52,612 souls that watched the 2014 Season opening which featured, in its twinbill, three of the four teams that played last night.
The PBA exhausted all means in drumming up the main game, as it even offered free bus rides to ticket holders coming from Kamuning and Buendia and back.
Ultra-modern and cavernous in every sense of the word, the Philippine Arena has six seating sections, with only the Retractable and Ringside sections filled to the brim.
A good portion of the Lower Level, which comes after Patron B, was just a third full, while the General Admission, which can, according to the venue official, sit more than 17,000 when filled to the brim, was just a fourth full.
“Maybe because it’s Christmas,” said the venue official. “People are in the provinces and they have something else to do, like be with family and relatives.”