JUST like what the National Basketball Association has done, the Philippine Basketball Association is also set to open a café and sports bar of its own for its fans.
Prior to the start of the league’s 41st season, the PBA will open its own sports café on Oct. 15, a few days before the opening of the new season, at the Metrowalk Complex area in Pasig City.
The first event in the PBA Café will the league’s appreciation night at 7 p.m. wherein all teams and officials are invited to share some cocktails in the grand opening on the said date.
Taking the same concept as the NBA Café in SM Aura, the soon to open PBA Café will cater a sports bar set-up wherein live games as well as replays will be broadcasted, featuring an innovated digital high-definition LED screens, in a restaurant set-up.
‘’The PBA games will be shown in high definition using a modernized set of LED screens for a better viewing pleasure for fans,’’ said Jayson So, president of Inewvation Philippines, the digital solutions partner of the PBA which provides the TV sets for the café. ‘’This is really exciting for the league and its fans.
In addition, the PBA will also likely use the venue to conduct some of its meetings and press conferences aside from its office in Libis, Quezon City.
Furthermore, past and present players are also set to drop by every now and then as the league aims for more fan interactions in the 41st season.
The dishes that will be served out in the sports resto will reportedly be named after the moniker of PBA legends as well as current PBA stars.
Initially, the league and its business partners were looking to put the café near the Smart Araneta Coliseum for it to be closer to the where the games are mostly played but space restrictions forced the move to Metrowalk instead.
The season-opening Philippine Cup and the new season kicks off on Oct. 18 at the Big Dome, with a heavyweight match-up to open things up with perennial contenders Rain or Shine and Star going at it right away.
Meanwhile, the strong only got a lot stronger as the already-loaded Talk ‘N Text acquired under-utilized swingman Dylan Ababou from Barako Bull in exchange for a future second-round pick.
The former UAAP Most Valuable Player came back from a series of injuries and had a decent season for the Energy the past year.
This will be the versatile forward’s third team in the PBA after stops in Barako Bull and Barangay Ginebra.
Ababou’s wing game is set to complement the inside presence of top Talk ‘N Text rookies Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario.
Talk ‘N Text will now have Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Larry Fonacier and Ababou in its wing rotation.