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| Chooks-To-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League has officially sealed its partnership deal with the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation which will bring select games of the Invitational Tournament on television via IBC 13. (Image Source: Tiebreaker Times) |
The Chooks-To-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Invitational Tournament will undoubtedly mark the return of the country's premiere regional men's basketball league after a long hiatus due to the continuing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of the action in the upcoming two-week basketball spectacular will be brought to millions of television viewing households across the country through the league's newly-forged partnership with the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC).
For IBC 13 chairman Arturo Alejandrino, bringing back sports to the state-owned channel's lineup is one way of helping the country getting back to normalcy after its long battle against COVID-19. During the signing of the partnership agreement between IBC and MPBL held last December 1, 2021 inside the Harbor View Restaurant in Manila, Alejandrino shared, “We are very excited partnering with the MPBL because we are going to go back to where we came from. We were in basketball before and for a while, we became very quiet and you know partnering with them is really a milestone also for IBC and we are excited as they are. Last year, we have started partnering with Department of Education to bring classrooms into their homes via television, and because of that our viewership got up tremendously and I am glad that because of this viewership base you know the broadcast of the games of MPBL is going to be viewed by Filipinos all over the country. Ang reach natin is from north up to Mindanao, so the basketball flag can go forward and be able to see basketball once again in their television sets. And we will develop more and more partnerships together, but again as I said we have decided in Channel 13 to be able to develop and contribute and one of them is to develop sports. And we are all excited and looking forward to December 11 for the launch.”
For league commissioner Kenneth Duremdes, “Ito na ‘yung masasabi nating IBC na ang home for basketball. Ito ‘yung inabutan natin noon. ‘Yung IBC sort of reviving of basketball on IBC 13. So masaya tayo na nagkaroon tayo ng partnership. Alam naman natin ngayon na restricted pa ang audience so mapapanuod tayo ng mga kababayan natin mga MPBL fans all over the country with IBC on us.” Meanwhile, Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (Chooks-To-Go) President Ronald Mascariñas commented, “We are glad that the MPBL has found a home in IBC 13 and that basketball is back there. With the reach of IBC 13 and our social media pages, we are confident that we can bring the league into many homes and be an inspiration to the Filipino youth.” The signing was also attended by IBC 13 On-Air Operations Manager Joey Ramos, IBC 13 Sales and Marketing Head Roy Gonzales, MPBL legal counsel Atty. Glenn Gacal, and Chooks-to-Go legal counsel Atty. Oliver Correa.
Amid the pandemic, the Chooks-To-Go MPBL Invitational Tournament will take place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City and the games will be played under closed doors as mandated by its health and safety protocols and in compliance with the standard procedures imposed and implemented by the city government and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID). Competing in the highly-anticipated tournament with a prize pool of Php2.7 million at stake are the All-Star Bacolod Ballers, Bacoor City Strikers, Bicol Volcanoes, Bulacan Kuyas, Caloocan Excellence, Gen San Warriors, Iloilo United Royals, Imus Bandera, Laguna Krah Asia, Makati FSD Blazers, Manila Stars, Marikina Shoe City, Mindoro EOG Burlington Tamaraws, Muntinlupa Cagers, Negros Muscovados, Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors, EMKAI - Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers, Sarangani Marlins, Val City - MJAS Zenith, San Juan Knights Go for Gold AICC, and Jumbo Plastic Basilan.
Select first-round games to be aired on IBC 13 include Bicol versus Basilan (December 11, 9:00 p.m.), Manila versus Mindoro and Negros versus Bacolod (December 12, 4:00 p.m.), Laguna versus Marikina (December 13, 7:30 p.m.), Gen San versus Imus (December 14, 7:30 p.m.), Pasig versus Bacoor (December 15, 7:30 p.m.), Bulacan versus Rizal (December 16, 7:30 p.m.), San Juan versus Muntinlupa (December 17, 7:30 p.m.), Sarangani versus Val City (December 18, 7:30 p.m.), Iloilo versus Caloocan and Nueva Ecija versus San Juan (December 19, 4:00 p.m.), and Makati versus Basilan (December 20, 7:30 p.m.). IBC 13 will eventually air two quarterfinals games on December 21st and the entire semifinals and finals of the tournament as well. All the televised and non-televised games of the tournament can be streamed live on the official Facebook pages of Chooks-To-Go Pilipinas and Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
