Salvaging the PBA All Star Weekend

So far, so bad.

In terms of achieving an "All Star Weekend" atmosphere, the PBA in general is doing a great job bombing promotions and marketing wise. We understand that they have no control over the airing of the festivities, but with the digital era upon us there's no reason for the league's annual showcase to not even make it to the Top Trending Hashtags on Twitter.

But instead of simply nitpicking, let's try to help the league we all love. The gate attendances for games are up, but as shown in last night's televised "Greats vs Stalwarts" game, not a lot of folks bothered to shell out money to watch what is really, a hodge-podge of a joke (with all due respect to the PBA Hall of Famers who put in the work-- shout out to the legend Noli "The Tank" Locsin).

The activities are: 3 point shootout, Obstacle/ Skills Challenge and the Slam Dunk competition.


Those three are staples, the Shootout for the league's top gunners, Skills for the point guards and ball handlers, and the Dunkfest for the high-flyers. There's no need for gimmicks for that one, just maybe give them the bulk of the limelight say, your Slam Dunk competition as your Main Event (and not some  senseless pick-up game).

But okay, we get it, the league has a lot of names then and now who'd like to be a part of the festivities.

To that we say, have that Greats vs Stalwarts game on a Friday-- give it all the hype it deserves. Hell, give it more thought than to just simply field in whoever is available. A Celebrity Basketball Challenge would've been fun-- given the fact that the channel that the PBA is on just so happens to have a showbiz arm (Derek Ramsey vs Sol Mercado would be fun to watch, and Bayani Agbayani has legit showtime skills). Hell, couldn't the league reach out to Mr Willie Revillame to take over the festivities and just give the fans what they want? Bet money that guy's going to put on an amazing visual showcase that would entertain all markets.

This way, even if the game is delayed or only from 8 p.m. to whatever, there's just one game on the schedule and all the attention is going to be on it.

On Saturday, that's where the skills challenges come in. Fans will be able to stay at home or head to the venue, watch their idols and just post it on different online social media platforms because they'd have more time for it.

Sunday's a given. That's your real showcase. This year it's another Gilas Pilipinas vs PBA All Stars. Last year it ended in a disappointing draw. This year, who knows? We understand now that you can't expect much from Gilas since they're not going to reveal any of their sets for others to scout. They'll probably go through the motions and just try to salvage another draw or win close. We understand. They're friends, no one wants to be embarrassed. Defense is not played in All Star games.

No harm there.

Hopefully, the PBA looks into the All Star Festivities next season and makes it an even bigger event. Bring in the celebrities, cross over to other platforms.

Watch WWF/WWE Vince McMahon promotional materials.