PBA ticket scalpers arrested ahead of Finals Game 6

Bay Area import Myles Powell challenges Barangay Ginebra guard Scottie Thompson during Game 6 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—The PBA on Wednesday thanked the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) following the arrest of alleged scalpers for selling tickets for Game 6 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals online.

Commissioner Willie Marcial said the QCPD’s anti-cybercrime division nabbed three men in an entrapment operation outside of Smart Araneta Coliseum on the eve of the match between Barangay Ginebra and Bay Area.

“We thank [QCPD chief Nicolas Torre] and the anti-cybercrime unit for assisting us in arresting those scalping online,” Marcial said in Filipino when he told members of the press before the Ginebra-Bay Area affair.

Marcial said the QCPD was able to retrieve 50 tickets, most of which are located at the upper box section.

A video courtesy of the QCPD and shared by the league showed one suspect trying to evade the arrest of officers who were posing as individuals looking to finalize their deal.

Scalping is prohibited in Quezon City through an ordinance introduced by former PBA player and coach Franz Pumaren in 1997 and was later amended in 2018.

But that has not prevented scalpers from finding ways to make the deal through online means, something the league continues to address.

Marcial also said that the PBA is also dealing with online scammers pretending to be selling tickets.

“We warn the public of these schemes, and that the QCPD is helping us in trying to resolve these cases,” he said.

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