The energy was palpable at the Red Rhino Restaurant & Art Bar in The Hub on Thursday morning, October 17, as fans gathered for a live viewing party of Game 3 of the 2024 WNBA Finals.
Presented by BlastTV, the event brought together basketball enthusiasts to witness the thrilling Game 3 match between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx.
In a thrilling finish, Sabrina Ionescu knocked down a game-winning triple to lift the Liberty as they move one win away from their first-ever WNBA crown.
[ALSO READ: WNBA: Sabrina Ionescu makes logo three game-winner for Liberty, pushes New York on cusp of title]
The live viewing party was made possible through a collaboration between the WNBA and BlastTV, ensuring that Filipino hoop fans will see the biggest and best female basketball players compete for the title.
“For us, that was one our key focuses and key priorities is to find a broadcast partner to bring the WNBA closer to fans. We’re very happy with this partnership with TapDMV and for them to be able bring the games live and for free on the Blast TV platform,” said NBA Asia Director for Content Partnerships and Direct-to-Consumer Donna Reyes.
“The excitement of this game and the excitement of the series, we’re so happy that more fans are getting to watch that excitement throught the Blast TV platforms,” she added.
The partnership has also been boding well for the BlastTV with more individuals, specifically the female demographic, wanting to watch the WNBA games live.
“Thanks to the WNBA, our subscribers are growing. We learned that there’s a huge following of the WNBA in the Philippines,” said BlastTV Mainstream Chief Growth Officer Jacque Ruby. “
“We’re thankful that we partnered with NBA to carry WNBA live in our platform. We’re really targeting the female demographic,” he added.
During the event, fans engaged in trivia games, tested their knowledge of the league, and participated in fun activities that heightened the sense of community among supporters of women’s sports.
The event also featured saw some former collegiate stars and members from Gilas Pilipinas Women watching the game with excitment as they bared their excitement with the growth of women’s basketball in the Philippines.
“I think it’s about time for that to happen. I also think there’s a lot of girls who are very excited about how much the game has grown and I hope the same goes for the Philippines,” said Marga Jimenez, former DLSU Lady Archers.
The sentiment was shared by Gilas Women forward Jhazmin Joson, who hopes the Philippines can also replicate the growing crowds in female basketball games.
“Seeing the crowd now more in the WNBA, I feel like other countries would like to follow what they’re doing, not just in the States but everywhere in the world,” said Joson.
“People are starting to recognize it even more. I hope that one day the Philippines would be able to also do exactly the same thing as them or even better,” she added.
“We’re gonna be working with Blast, hopefully leading into the next season,” said Reyes. “Obviously, we’ve seen today just how excited fans are and there’s really a need for more events like this for fans to get together and to be able to enjoy the games together.”
Game 4 of the WNBA Finals will be on Saturday, October 19 (Philippine time).
