My First PBA Experience

I grew up watching PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) on the TV with my Mom, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. I remember how the whole family would be in front of the TV every Ginebra game. I even memorized the songs a certain Filipino composer made especially for the team. I also covered my armchair with a cute paper and photos of the Ginebra team. But I'm not the type to actually watch the game live in the stadium or coliseum. I even skipped UAAP back in college when every cheer for my alma mater Tamaraws was needed. :) Yes, I've never watched a single live PBA/UAAP before.

Last week, my parents decided to watch the PBA finals live at the Araneta Coliseum, of course I was excited!

But my Ginebra days are over and I'm into Kpop these days so I am really clueless. I just went to watch the game without knowing who the teams are or who the players are going to be.

We arrived too early. Look at the empty place. We got there around 4 pm, the game starts at 6!

Since it's my first time, this is me concentrating and being totally amazed!
I was really clueless about the game! I asked my seatmate which team she was rooting for, she answered B-Meg. B-Meg is the brand for animal feeds, right? Anyway, I think my parents and I went to the B-Meg area...

Finally the game is starting!

B-Meg on the left. Rain or Shine on the right.

Look at the crowd starting to fill the whole coliseum. And that's B-Meg saying their "Aja, Fighting" cheer. lol :)

Since it's the 7th game and the game standing was 3-3, whoever wins this game will be the champion. These balloons were waiting to fall.

The marshals being totally watchful. I've seen a lot of PBA games where unsatisfied spectators were so mad that they threw coins and bottle caps on the players. I've also seen players turn the court into a boxing ring. I guess they were trying to avoid that now.

During the half-time break, the Sex Bomb girls performed.

And now, back to the game. I didn't know I was actually going to watch James Yap. I think I was in college when he was still playing for UE. Everybody says he is a good player, it's good to finally be able to watch him play live.

Spot the ball in this photo. :)

FEU's very own, Mark Barocca was also there playing for B-Meg. I was also in college when he played for FEU. lol. I'm giving away my age.

My cousin's cousin, Paul Lee was there. I didn't know he was playing for Rain or Shine. He was really an amazing player back in colleg. He played for UE, too.

The crowd.

Marshals in action.

The Rain or Shine crowd. You see a lot of Red shirts.

The B-Meg crowd holding white balloons!

The place was jam packed with 21,853 people!!

James Yap, again. I'm not really good at PBA rules and how everything goes, but I just observed how many times James was in the free throw line. How come he gets fouled by players so many times? Is this basketball bullying? lol. Yes, that's my funny term for that, sorry..

Coach Tim Cone being irate. I remember watching him coach for Alaska when I was young and being a Ginebra fan, of course I had to hate him you know. hehe

The game's almost over. It was a close fight...

But..

Rain or Shine proved they are better this conference than B-Meg. Players and coaches rejoiced!

And balloons dropped...

Happy Rain or Shine fans

The runner-up trophy was given to B-Meg. Look at how sad their faces looked.

And how blissful the other team was.

This is me striking a pose as my mom takes a remembrance photo of me on my first ever live basketball game experience.

It was a nice experience. Though we were so far from the court because the tickets sold fast like pancakes! But it was still great. It's nice to scream at the top of your lungs when your favorite players scores. Too bad I missed this experience in college.

Thank you for reading!

Did you also watch this game? Who did you root for? Comment below and tell us your story, too!

♥

Kristine