Attendance record will be very hard to break, says PBA commish Willie Marcial

Brgy. Ginebra and Meralco are set to meet in the Finals of the Governors’ Cup for the third time in the last four seasons.

The Gin Kings won the first meeting in 2016 and then repeated the following year in record-breaking fashion.

First to fall was the most number of paying fans in a Finals game and it happened in Game 5. With the series tied at 2 games apiece, 36,445 fans trooped to the Philippine Arena and shattered the 4-year old mark of 23,436 recorded during Game 3 of the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup between Brgy. Ginebra and Alaska.

With the Gin Kings just one win away from a back-to-back trick, 53,642 fans came to watch the game live and broke the all-time largest attendance of 52,612 set during the 2014 season opener which featured Brgy. Ginebra against TNT.

After the Bolts won Game 6 to force a winner-take-all Game 7, an unbelievable 54,086 fans returned to the venue just 2 days from the record-breaking feat to set a brand new all-time high. And the Gin Kings made sure that their legion of followers won’t go home empty-handed.

With the third installment of the ‘Finals Trilogy’ about to start, league commissioner Willie Marcial is unconvinced that a new round of records will be set in the upcoming series which will, nonetheless, hold Games 6 and 7 at the historic venue in Bulacan if necessary.

“Kung itatanong mo sa akin kung mahihit natin yung 54,000, sa akin, palagay ko mahihirapan na. One thing, nagbago na ang landscape dahil sa economics,” said Marcial.

“I’m always talking to the fans. They have aired their sides. They have reasons and it’s for their own good. We just decided to still hold games in big arenas to still open up chance for those who want to watch without expectations on setting new records,” he added.