The Effect of ABS CBN's Shut Down on Future Basketball Stars

"In the service of the Filipino. Worldwide." 

That's what ABS CBN stands for.

And yes, aspiring athletes are among the ones who have been benefiting from the ABS CBN's broadcasting of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) games among other games of other leagues in the country. And we are not talking about mere exposure. 

Since the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) came out with a cease and desist order that forced ABS CBN to go off the air, many have been said with regards to the effect of the NTC's order to the freedom of the press and more importantly, to the families of the broadcasting company's employees. But perhaps, no one got hurt by the shut down of the company other than those young athletes who are aspiring to play in the big stage. After all, ABS CBN Sports has been hailed as the home college sports.

A big reason why ABS CBN Sports helped a lot of current basketball stars of today is that the exposure that they get when they were still in college allowed basketball scouts during that time to actually see what they can actually do and more importantly, those broadcast by ABS CBN helped teams put themselves on the map of local and international basketball.

A perfect example of the beneficiary of ABS CBN Sports' televising of NCAA games is the Philippine Basketball Association veteran and former national team member, Beau Belga who played for the Philippine Christian University (PCU) Dolphins alongside Gabby Espinas and Jayson Castro. A host in his segment called "Extra Rice on The Score", Belga pointed out that the NCAA games being televised by then Studio 23, has allowed basketball players who were hoping to get into the bigger leagues such as the PBA, to get their big breaks and that, being exposed on national TV helped them get known to scouts and coaches. With ABS CBN and, Sports and Action in particular, not on air, it takes away the chance of other aspiring basketball players to get the breaks that they will need to make it big into the big leagues. 

Renren Ritualo, one of the best shooters who came out of the De La Salle University basketball program and whose career saw hin him four UAAP championships, added that it was ABS CBN who put La Salle back onto the map of collegiate basketball. But more than that, Ritualo said that collegiate basketball being televised by ABS CBN has made the jobs of scouts and coaches easier because even if you cannot go the venue to watch the actual games, you can do so on your TV or in today's times, your laptop or even on your smartphones. 

But more than the enjoyment that we fans are enjoying whenever Sports and Action is televising UAAP and NCAA games, more than the exciting basketball action that we see in the games, and more than just about the freedom of the press, ABS CBN's televising collegiate basketball is something that helped start the careers of basketball champions of today and that's something that both Ritualo and Belga enjoyed in the past. And that's something that future generations of players won't enjoy if ABS CBN won't return on air. 

Photo is from PhilNews.ph