Behind the Scenes: The Heroes of ABS-CBN Sports

 In the service of the Filipino sports fan, worldwide.

While the general public sees or hears the finished product on-air or online, most do not witness or appreciate those who worked tirelessly behind the scenes at ABS-CBN Sports.

There’s an African proverb that says it takes a village to raise a child.

Well, it took almost exactly that to make ABS-CBN Sports work.

As we commemorate National Heroes Day in the country on the final day of ABS-CBN Sports, it is only fitting to acknowledge and thank those behind-the-scenes heroes who have been part of the amazing journey (DISCLAIMER: I may have left out some names, but it is purely unintentional so my apologies).

Thank you, first and foremost, to our Chairman Emeritus Gabby Lopez, whose passion and love for sports led to the initiative that is ABS-CBN Sports.

Thank you to our former President and CEO, Charo Santos-Concio, our current President and CEO, Carlo Katigbak, a true tennis fan, and our Chairman Mark Lopez, who showed us composure, class and grace as leaders. 

Thank you to our beloved COO, Cory Vidanes, who allowed ABS-CBN Sports to reach a broader audience when it aired special events on Channel 2 as well as feature athletes and sports personalities on entertainment programs.  

Thank you to the voice of ABS-CBN and former ABS-CBN Sports head, Peter Musngi, for leading the division during its early years.

Thank you to Narrowcast head, Antonio “March” Ventosa, as well as his executive assistant, Trina Magallanes, for helping us navigate during the transtition period of ABS-CBN Sports.  

Thank you to the captain of our ship, ABS-CBN Integrated Sports head, Dino Laurena, who inspired us to work harder and better to serve our audience. 

Thank you to Sir Dino’s gatekeeper, his executive assistant, Donna Seat, who was our bridge whenever we needed to reach out to the boss.

Thank you to S+A channel head and production head, Vince Rodriguez, LIGA channel head, Jojo Neri-Estacio and Business Unit Head, Jun Martinez. They were our constant guides who enabled us to provide quality content on broadcast despite immense internal and external pressure. 

Thank you to the people who made sure we never went beyond our budget and reached our targets – our Finance team made up of Berg Capiz, Jem Castro and Lorna Gendrano.

Thank you to our S+A On-Air team of Rommel Noviza, Janice Rulloda, Princess Basye, Biboy Diga, Mark Marinay, Arnold Saclolo, Borge Raval and Hans Espiritu as well as our Liga Channel team of  Anna Santos, Francis Patawaran, Aprille Signo and Joramie Roque, for ensuring everything airs on time. 

Thank you to our Digital Head, Mico Halili, for his innovative and fresh ideas on the digitial space.  

Thank you to the men and women who made our broadcast coverage as close to flawless – our Production Manager, Jennifer Jimenez, our directors, which include THE Abet Ramos, Al Neri, Raul de Ocampo and Rommel Pedrealba, and our technical directors made up of Elmond Salvahan, Jhonnald Garcia, Marvin Chavez, Bingbong Pangan, Arnold Bulaong and Joseph Vega.

Thank you to the men and women who made sure our partner properties were happy with our coverage, and that everything was in place for each and every game or show we put out there – our Executive and Associate Producers Vic Caridad, Malou Neri, Ada Bayuga, Diana Sayson, Oxy del Rosario, Mae Mañalac, Aries Galot, Apples Dela Vega, Kristina Manzana, Roy Briones, Ledz Cahinhinan, JC Gonzales, Gab Gonzales and Manny Gabutina. 

Thank you to those who crafted and produced memorable segments – our segment producers Eva Evangelista, Carlo Grajo, Cha Lucero, Mark Morados, Jeff Sta. Maria, Jet Montebon, Sharon Muli, Alex Brocoy, Mika Barrios, Bill Barrinuevo and Volta delos Santos as well as our video editors Pido Cruz and Fonz Fajatin.

Thank you to those who put the right words into play – our writers Monica Magpantay, Paul Loyola, Jigs Guardiano, Adrian Dy, Sheiden Dela Cruz, Ken Natividad, Syjin Reyes and Migs Gomez.

Thank you to those who gave the right cues to our anchors, analysts and courtside reporters – our panel director Larry "Care Mo Naman" Deang, our floor directors Miky "Gandara" Mirabueno, Lyanne Ocampo-Tan and Fritz Dizon.

Thank you to the people who made sure that the right moments were captured – our Camera Control Unit made up of George Austria, Joel Supremo and Edgar Guarte, our Cameramen Lloyd Villamor, Rovic Pacis, Gerald "Superman" Fermin, Ron Fermin, Ronald Mangcoy, Michael Pico, Emman Andes, Butch Pineda and Mark Nicolas.

Thank you to those who made sure we heard the sounds and voices loud and clear – our audio engineers Elias Javier, Ramil Ciruano, Albert Agbay, Jancel Abobo as well as our audiomen Joseph Nicolas and Ameng Atienza.

Thank you to the guys who allowed us to get another look at the action – our EVS/Slomo Operators Joejay Abarquez, Raymond Biojon and Dido Batallion and VTR men Christian Abarquez, Kenneth Abarquez and Oliver Sañez.

Thank you to the people responsible for making things more visible on our screens –our Electrician/Lighting Directors Alvin Saavedra and Jorge Paraon and our lightman Calvin Liong.

Thank you to those who create those cool graphics and effects that catch our attention during games and shows - our Graphic Artists/Operators Jam Memdoza, Denice Ylagan, Erol Corpuz, Sara Concepcion, Jeff Jugueta and Kevin Camero.

Thank you to the team who put the little things in order – our set-up assistants Jerald Testor, Ivan Castillo, Ferdie Mangaong, Remus Taniengra, Daniel Dimaculangan, Eduardo Dacumos, Ryan Ancheta, Allan Porsioncula, Laurence Sosa, Illac Alvarez, Benjo Asiatico, Manny Cajayon, Lepoldo Bofill, Victor Taniegra, Caleb Bautista, Jeremiah Mallari and Bennett Cabus.

Thank you to the guys who provided the correct statistics and graphics – our panel scorers/GFX feeders Rico Bayuga, Ronaldo Serrano, Arvin Estabillo and Gilbert Serrano. Special mention also to "The Sultan of Stats" Pong Ducanas. 

Thank you to those who made our on-cam talents look good – our makeup artists Mylyn Concepcion, Nina Concepcion, Estrella Besabe, Norma Calubaquib and Nizel Reduta and our stylist Lyle Foz.

Thank you to those who were always ready to lend a helping hand – our production assistants, Lian Salango, Pau Hiwatig, Helen Trinidad, Riri Gayoma, Jade Asuncion and Lovely Dela Cruz.

Thank you for the imagination and artistry of our Creative Communications Management (CCM) team composed of Elirose Borja, Jerome Clavio, Djoanna San Jose, Lara Mae Allardo, Robin Lorete, Cristy Linga, Christopher Eli Sabat, Archimedes Asis (the voice of S+A), Jan Dormyl Espinosa, Aila Onagan and Nyro Mendoza.

They say that advertising is the lifeblood of media and that we wouldn’t be able to deliver high-quality content if not for advertisers brought in our by our Sports Sales team, so thank you to our Sports Sales Heads Jojo Garcia, Nicole Moro and Ken Ti, along with our account executives Tin Saw, Annalyn Herrera, Trina Vallarta, Joey Tang, Karlo Miguel, Paul Sembrana, Mike Tan, Ray Del Castillo, and Jason Gaffud.

Thank you to those who constantly pitched ideas and presented to clients on our behalf, our Business Development Executive, Tonyo Silva, and our Sports Marketing team made up of Thirdy Aquino, Maui Tang, Jason Roberto, Danica Jose, Lala Cruz and Hanz Trajano.

Thank you to the people who looked out for the wellfare and concerns of our division members – our Human Resources squad made up of Arvin Crisol, James Lee, Anika Gregorio and Donna Yabut.

Social media has been a game changer and enabled people to relive key moments in sports events, so thank you to our social media team made up of Jon Rodriguez, Alvin Laqui, Danine Cruz, Aia del Mundo, Melvin Rodas, Clev Mayuga, Migs Flores and Lloydie Moreno.

We would also like to give special thanks to our former bosses and colleagues who have moved on from this world, Rolly V. Cruz, Danilo A. Bernardo, George G. Padolina, Marco Franco, Gerald Gicana, Rhodora "Dhanda" Panganiban, Vernie Calimlim and Erwin Evangelista. 

Lastly, I personally want to thank the website content team made up of sub-section editors Santino Honasan, Mark “Mr. Volleyball” Escarlote, Norman Benjamin Lee Riego (Yes, it has to be his complete name) and Paul Lintag, former sub-section editor Milan Ordonez, former writer Philip Matel, videographers Nigel Velasquez, Rocio Avelino and Steph Toben, photographers Arvin Lim, Richard Esguerra and Joshua Albelda, former NBA Philippines website managing editor Adrian Dy, contributing writers Anton Roxas, Marco Benitez, “Doc Volleyball” AJ Pareja, Migs Bustos, Mikee “Diliman Legend” Reyes and Ceej Tantengco.

While our journey in telling these stories with ABS-CBN Sports will abruptly come to a halt, it has been an honor and a pleasure serving the Filipino sports fans worldwide.

We may no longer be around as an organization, but the great athletes will keep playing and inspiring and the games will continue.

And so, with a sense of immense gratitude, we say: Maraming Salamat Kapamilya! Hanggang sa muli!

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Lorenzo Z. Manguiat has been the Editor-in-Chief of sports.abs-cbn.com since 2014 and Sports News Desk Head since 2015. He started as game writer for ABS-CBN Sports in 2000 and served in various other capacities within ABS-CBN. He is among the thousands of employees who will be retrenched on August 31, 2020.  

https://sports.abs-cbn.com/generalsports/news/2020/08/31/behind-scenes-the-heroes-abs-cbn-sports-70624

Will ABS-CBN be back in 2022? Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV says that the network will get a new franchise if the opposition wins

 “Mark my words, ABS-CBN’s franchise would be granted once the opposition wins in 2022.”

Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is confident that the ABS-CBN franchise will be renewed if the opposition wins the 2022 presidential election.

“Mark my words, ABSCBN’s franchise would be granted once the opposition wins in 2022.”

Mark my words, ABSCBN's franchise would be granted once the opposition wins in 2022.

— Sonny Trillanes IV (@TrillanesSonny) August 29, 2020

Trillanes is a very outspoken part of the opposition. He is one of the persistent people who shows dissent with Duterte’s administration. He was even banned in Davao by the city officials for being so.

Moreover, he has been active in pointing out the shortcomings of the current administration especially during the ABS-CBN franchise issue which he believes is a curtailment of the freedom of speech.

 

Cong. Boying Remulla, for your sake, I hope you gained the whole world for that impressive display of servitude. #ABSCBNFranchiseRenewal

— Sonny Trillanes IV (@TrillanesSonny) July 6, 2020

It is a sad day for press freedom. Another pillar of our fragile democracy has fallen.

Now, if we really want to save our country, kailangan nating maging matapang. #TindigPilipinas

— Sonny Trillanes IV (@TrillanesSonny) July 10, 2020

#WeWillNeverForget pic.twitter.com/Y5ADT0ODBi

— Sonny Trillanes IV (@TrillanesSonny) July 13, 2020

 The closure of the ABS-CBN network as the Congress decided not to grant them a fresh 25-year franchise has drawn criticism from people who believe that it was politicized.

As August comes to an end, it signifies the termination of jobs of thousands of employees including celebrities as part of the network’s retrenchment program.

Recently, the 12 regional network groups of the network officially aired their final broadcast as they also bid farewell.

Many celebrities and journalists also announced that their shift of network including Pokwang, Jessy Mendiola, and Ted Failon.

Despite the injustice and attack on the freedom of speech, many people believe that ABS-CBN will be back soon.

https://www.lionheartv.net/2020/08/will-abs-cbn-be-back-in-2022-former-senator-antonio-trillanes-iv-says-that-the-network-will-get-a-new-franchise-if-the-opposition-wins/

The treasure ABS-CBN built in PH sports

As ABS-CBN Sports bids farewell, here's a lookback on how the media giant captured the fans' favorite sporting moments

ABS-CBN has been an institution in Philippine sports for its live broadcast coverage of major leagues, especially the UAAP. 

Since 2000, the media giant captured UAAP’s best moments before it had to part ways with the country's biggest collegiate league this year due to the non-renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise. 

But it’s a relationship that has become historic in Philippine media. 

"It’s when you’re going to lose something that it becomes dearest to your heart," said head of ABS-CBN Integrated Sports Dino Laurena.  

"We fail to value the deep relations we had because it’s a matter of fact thing – it’s a job that you do, but I guess for our university partners and ourselves, it’s very hard to ignore a 20-year relationship."

"Even among us, it’s a very definitive relationship," he added. "Twenty years is nothing to scoff at – the organizations grew up."

Beyond basketball

ABS-CBN Sports is a testament to how pivotal media is in growing a sport. 

From an event once relegated to tiny gyms, volleyball has grown to be a major sport in the country with the help of the network.

Beyond the popular Alyssa Valdez and Ateneo's Fab Five or the powerhouse La Salle Lady Spikers, the sport's rise was also a product of the risk taken by ABS-CBN and the UAAP. 

Before volleyball earned its legions of fans in the country, ABS-CBN Sports executive producer Abet Ramos remembered how UAAP volleyball games were only played in the gyms of UAAP schools. 

"Basketball was the main sport for the UAAP. We were covering the basketball games and the finals of the volleyball only and the finals of volleyball was just held at the old UP gym," recalled Ramos. 

After noticing that there is a sizeable following for volleyball in the school gyms, ABS-CBN felt like it was high-time to take a risk. 

The UAAP and its broadcast partner booked San Juan Arena (now known as the Filoil Flying V Centre) for the first time in 2008 for the Final Four featuring Far Eastern University vs University of Santo Tomas and Adamson vs Ateneo. 

"Noong nilipat sa San Juan Arena, [we realized that] there is a different kind of fan base for volleyball compared to basketball," added Ramos as the venue has now become the home of the sport each UAAP season. 

(When the games were moved to San Juan Arena, we realized that there is a different kind of fan base for volleyball compared to basketball.) 

By 2013 – after 5 successful years of broadcasting the entire UAAP volleyball season – ABS-CBN and the UAAP again made a bold move by holding the elimination round games of UST vs NU and La Salle vs Ateneo at the 20,000-seater Mall of Asia Arena. 

"People were skeptical. The crowd was different from basketball," said Ramos. 

But the unprecedented decision drew a record-breaking number of 19,638 spectators not only from the UAAP community but also fans from different cities and provinces across the country. 

"We tried it and people from the provinces [came] kasama mga anak nila. Hindi naman sila from Ateneo, La Salle, UST and NU. Naging weekend get-together. [May galing] Cebu, Dagupan, and napuno ‘yung MOA," added the veteran producer. 

(We tried it and people from the provinces came with their children. They’re not even from Ateneo, La Salle, UST and NU. It became a weekend get-together for them. There were people from Cebu, Dagupan, and MOA was filled.) 

In recent years, ABS-CBN applied the same formula of providing live coverage of the playoffs and final games of other UAAP sports like beach volleyball, football, softball and baseball. This also gave fans a taste of the drama and cardiac games unique to these collegiate sports. 

Although these sports belong to niche yet passionate communities, it gave tournaments outside the UAAP confidence to approach ABS-CBN for media coverage. 

"Before, beach volleyball was just held in UERM Caloocan. It was a makeshift sand court then, now it’s [held] in Sands at SM by the Bay, and it expanded to the BVR (Beach Volleyball Republic)," said Ramos. 

Steering change

ABS-CBN Sports also played a big role in the country’s hosting of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games when it provided live coverage of the opening ceremonies, football and volleyball events. 

The media giant was able to capture the Philippine men’s volleyball team’s breakthrough silver medal finish that garnered the attention of sports fans. 

While the women’s game remains more popular in the country,  ABS-CBN and the UAAP saw the opportunity to ramp up its promotions for men’s volleyball by having an alternate men’s and women’s game schedule during match days in Season 82. 

Unfortunately, the season came to an early end due to the coronavirus pandemic after a week of games. 

Still, people were able to take interest on homegrown international-caliber players like Marck Espejo and Bryan Bagunas, who have been playing abroad after their stints in the UAAP. 

Bringing athletes closer to fans

ABS-CBN also made sure that fans would get a chance to know their favorite athletes more and see their side beyond sports.  

When the coronavirus pandemic hit and put a halt to the world of live sports, the company’s sports arm relied on its digital team to produce shows like SRSLY, hosted by National University Bulldogs player Shaun Ildefonso, and Kalye Confessions by volleyball player Cherry Nunag of PetroGazz Angels.

Since the UAAP Season 82 volleyball games were suspended, the league’s star players Michelle Cobb, Eya Laure, Ponggay Gaston and Roselyn Rosier also hosted TBH, which kicked off in June. 

"It’s bringing the game closer to people," said Ramos. "You try to be involved in the game especially when digital came in, wherever you are, you can watch and put a comment and most of the players will answer you.

"With the new aspect of digital and with the cameras that we have, we see a new perspective of the games and the story we want to tell."

Recently, ABS-CBN also made history with the UAAP’s first ever online broadcast of the Season 82 closing ceremonies. 

More than ending a 20-year relationship, the event celebrated the bond of ABS-CBN Sports and its staff that gave fans the sports entertainment they enjoyed through the years. 

"An idea is only as good as its execution. There’s got to be a lot of expertise and that’s what we‘ve always embraced," said Laurena. "We’ve been together for a reason and we’re stronger than the sum of our parts."

https://rappler.com/sports/treasure-abs-cbn-built-philippine-sports