Patriots co-owner sees profitable ABL caging next season

By Cedelf P. Tupas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:09:00 02/15/2010

Filed Under: Basketball

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Patriots co-owner Tonyboy Cojuangco is optimistic of the continued growth of the ASEAN Basketball League despite the birth pains of an inaugural season.

“Our target at the start of the season is to win the tournament, the other is to market the league, which I think we need to do a better job with next season,” the businessman told the Inquirer Friday.

Cojuangco’s assessment came after the Patriots took a 1-0 lead over Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma in their ABL title series.

It was the first time Cojuangco graced an ABL game all season long and the victory confirmed what co-team owner Mikee Romero of Harbour Center had been telling him all along: The Patriots are perhaps the strongest team in the league.

While the Patriots have enjoyed considerable success on the court, Cojuangco candidly admitted the league found difficulty marketing its inaugural season.

He said the ABL’s second season should give league officials a chance to apply what they learned from the maiden season.

“Everything was rushed this season and we weren’t able to sell the league properly,” he admitted. “There was a misunderstanding who would get the sponsors for the television coverage and for the team. The ABL said they would get sponsors for TV and for the league. It turned out they didn’t get enough, so we ended up scrambling for sponsors for TV.

“Next season, I think we would have enough time,” he added. “Potential sponsors already saw the league and that increases our chances of bringing up our ad revenues.”