MACAU – A plan to stage an annual home-and-away competition culminating in a Final Four with a SuperBowl atmosphere to start next year has been laid on the table by East Asia Super League CEO Matt Beyer for the PBA to participate in what promises to be the biggest regional basketball event involving four countries showing a combined population of two billion.
Beyer, the man behind the Summer Super 8 and Terrific 12, disclosed details of the proposal before PBA chairman Ricky Vargas, Blackwater owner Dioceldo Sy, Alaska governor Dickie Bachmann, San Miguel Beer governor Robert Non, Blackwater governor Silliman Sy, Phoenix governor Atty. Raymond Zorilla, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial, PBA head of operations Eric Castro and PBA legal counsel Atty. Melvin Mendoza during a private meeting at the Mandarin Oriental hotel here the other night. Beyer was accompanied by East Asia’s Banjo Albano.
“We’re looking forward to the future,” said Beyer. “With 65 percent of the world’s population in Asia, it’s no surprise that more and more major sporting events are happening in this part of the planet. Over the five-year period from 2018 to 2023, the competitions in Asia include the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, 2019 Rugby World Cup, 2019 FIBA World Cup, 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and 2023 FIBA World Cup.”
Beyer said the success of the Summer Super 8 and Terrific 12 has led to conceptualizing a consolidation of resources to take staging a regional basketball competition to the next level. In this year’s second Terrific 12, Beyer said he expects viewership to exceed 60 million with 38 broadcast networks and a digital platform creating a wide base to reach out to a burgeoning market. Last year’s inaugural Terrific 12 registered a viewership of 37.7 million with coverage in 49 countries.
Beyer said his concept is in line with increasing the quality of competition in Asia and providing an unforgettable experience for players, coaches, team officials and fans. “We’ve seen how Asian countries fared in the recent FIBA World Cup,” he said. “Our concept intends to deliver a model where teams from China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines can compete at a high level, improve their standards of play and share in the commercial success of our event.”
Beyer and CFO Henry Kerins secured FIBA sanction to hold the East Asia Super League for 10 years with the option to extend to another five. “We’ve traveled to Geneva to present our idea to FIBA, to Beirut to meet with FIBA Asia officials and all over Asia to obtain commitments from national federations,” said Beyer. “We’re out to create the second largest and most influential basketball property in the world after the NBA."