By REYNALD MAGALLON
As the PBA wants the fans to join in a one festive celebration that ushers in the Season 49, the league is offering a huge ticket discount in the opening day that would feature a marquee duel between powerhouses Meralco and Magnolia on Sunday, Aug. 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
PBA chairman and TNT governor Ricky Vargas announced that the tickets for the upper box seats and up are priced 49 pesos for the opening day in celebration of the league’s 49th year.
Tickets will be on a first come, first served basis.
“Dahil 49th season the board has agreed that all tickets first come, first served upper box and above will be 49 pesos,” said Vargas during the Season 49 pre-season press conference at the EDSA Shangri-La Manila on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
“During opening day, tickets will be 49 pesos for everybody who would like to come and watch the opening day. During opening day, we normally have a lot of fans who come and attend. This time, we are going to open it to people. So we are inviting everybody, first come, first serve to avail of that pasasalamat ng PBA board and the PBA community,” he added.
Fans are up for a treat on the opening day as aside from the clash between potential title contenders in Meralco and Magnolia, they are also set to witness the Leo Awards which will merit the best players of the last season before the formal opening ceremony for the brand new year.
The Bolts and Hotshots showdown is the beginning of what is expected to be a hectic schedule as the league is set to play six days in a week in an effort to ensure that the Gilas Pilipinas will have enough preparation time for the upcoming FIBA Asia 2025 qualifying window in November.
A more competitive landscape is also seen with teams now divided into two groups during the eliminations phase. Group A is composed of Converge, Terrafirma, NorthPort, TNT, Magnolia, and Meralco, while Group B is made up of Blackwater, Phoenix, NLEX, Rain or Shine, Barangay Ginebra, and San Miguel Beer.
Teams play in a double-round robin with the top 4 squads advancing to the best-of-five quarterfinals. Semifinals and Finals are both in a best-of-seven affairs.
Defending champion TNT begins its title retention bid against NorthPort on Tuesday, Aug. 20. On the same day, second overall pick Sedrick Barefield also makes his debut for Blackwater against Rain or Shine.
Perennial contender Barangay Ginebra along with resident import and Gilas naturalized player Justin Brownlee are set to make their debut against Rain or Shine in an out-of-town game in Candon on Saturday, Aug. 24.
