I have been critical of how the PBA is doing its best to self-destruct.
Lopsided trades, inability to adapt, crappy all-star weekend formats, and midseason expiring contracts are I guess, three out of the many problems of the league at the moment.
With that said, I love how they are giving away condensed full-game highlights.
Just like what the NCAA is doing, the PBA and One Sports are finally realizing that they need to push their content to all avenues. I know the league has UHF and cable presence but most of the public can't sacrifice their two hours to just sit in front of the television sets. In fact, I consume my NCAA info via ALT+TAB. When I hear a guy shouting like hell because of a good move, or if the game reaches its breaking point, that is when I momentarily minimize my MS Word to watch the game.
The PBA is no stranger to this format. In fact, they once livestreamed their games on their website. When they stopped, I lost interest in the PBA.
Nowadays, I consume PBA information with their full-game highlights on YouTube. This is great for the league because it's short, it's not limited to made shots, and it still gives the viewer the PBA experience. If you are not a fan of Terrafirma, Blackwater, Northport, Rain or Shine, TNT, NLEX, Meralco, and Converge, this is a good way to check out their games. At the same time, it also makes the games accessible whether you are "on the go" or "on a break."
I guess if you still want to see the full game, that is the time for a person to watch their live and delayed telecast on their cable channels. In some ways, this is also the reason why I checked out the Rain or Shine versus Meralco game on their Cignal channel before checking out the online highlights on YouTube. Maybe it's the fact that the Philippine Cup is the best PBA conference, but with that also in mind, I get to see how they play because of the highlights. Yeng Guiao is still cursing the life out of everyone, but at the same time, his team isn't as strong as they once were. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Cariaso is transforming Blackwater into Alaska 2.0. Yes, I am convinced that The Jet is turning them to his former team given that JV Casio is his former player, and Blackwater is wearing their red and black colors. Terrafirma is one team that has an identity, especially Juami Tiongson turning into a super scorer, Javi Gomez de Llano becoming a better player, and Stephen Holt finally playing like the team's de facto import.
As for Converge, there is something about this team that feels like they are throwing their games to acquire Justine Baltazar. The former DLSU forward is going to be a menace, especially if he combines his game with Justin Arana, but this team dismantled the old Alaska team and replaced them with awkward pieces for the sole purpose of a higher draft spot.
So there. Kudos to the PBA and One Sports for this. Maybe they can also use their YouTube channels to boost their other programs and perhaps create content like podcasts.
And I'll probably share a couple of games I like here. These highlights made me like the Terrafirma lineup. Aside from Holt, Magic Tiongson, and JGL, I have become a fan of their NCAA players, as well as the emergence of Isaac Go. Northport as well, with the team being a better version of Converge for me in the sense that they have a combo of NCAA and UAAP stars with Arvin Tolentino at the forefront. As much as I know the SMC teams are bound to get the services of these players, I just these guys to have their way in the PBA.
Hopefully, they are going to get the fanbase.