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| (Image Source: PhilippinesDaily.com) |
It is usually rare for Filipino sports enthusiasts to discuss and share
their own thoughts on local sports stories that are bound to be forgotten such
as the future of the Countrywide Basketball League following its unexpected
circumstances at the last minute when everything is all set. However, little did
they know that the torch is not literally died down for a startup inter-provincial
basketball league.
If you are correct in your memories, the Countrywide Basketball League
was set to open during last year's holiday season with everything intact.
However, at the last moment, its supposed television broadcast partner ABS-CBN officially
decided to cancel its partnership with the league leading its supposed maiden
season to a standstill. With this in mind, many thought that the efforts of the
CWBL in its opening moments were wasted due to some unforeseen and unexplained
matters.
Let's jump back to the near end of July 2017. I was a bit surprised and
stunned when I read an article about the CWBL on Sunstar Online. It is there
that I learned that the league's management has found a new broadcast partner
and it was overwhelming for me to find out that the CWBL will be in the hands
of none other than Solar Entertainment Corporation of all media and
entertainment companies that support Philippine sports. And if you think that
CWBL has chosen the wrong television partner, then you should reconsider
because this partnership should be worth beyond anybody's possibilities.
In this case, the league is starting all over again from scratch and
assures that it will not repeat the mistakes from last year. In fact, the
league has began inviting teams from different provinces to take part in the
maiden season. So far, two teams from Cebu are already in and those from
Southern Luzon are expected to accept the invitation. Aside from the television
coverage which is assumed to be aired on Solar Sports, the league is planning
to bring its games online via Facebook Live while exerting efforts to tap sponsors
for the upcoming league. From the trubist's perspective, these preparations and
efforts would make the CWBL become a league of its own. Hopefully, Solar will
do well in bringing the league to a wider audience in its own way in the local
TV business considering that it is one of a handful of sports networks in the
Philippines to carry an undying torch aside from TV5 and PTV which by the way
is the official Philippine broadcaster of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.
