First Time in SM Mall of Asia Arena

Since the Philippines is host to the FIBA (Federation International Basketball Association) Championship this year, I was invited to watch the quarterly finals round at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. There were two sessions, morning and afternoon, each involving 3 games between various Asian countries. We got there at around 1:30 p.m. and were easily able to purchase a ticket for the morning session. We were able to watch the game between Iran and Jordan where Iran won by roughly 40 points.

But after that game, we had to purchase another ticket for the afternoon session, something I consider inefficient, but from a manager's perspective, this is very shrewd. Management's excuse, almost all of the tickets for the afternoon session have been sold. So what people will actually be lining up for are the tickets that were not yet sold, mostly the expensive ones.

We waited in line for almost four hours only to find out that there were no longer any tickets available. Scalpers would come and go trying to offer those in line tickets almost double their purchase price despite their being a rule that they might face a penalty of 5,000 pesos and imprisonment for repeated offenses. But these scalpers didn't seem to mind. They would prey on foreigners mostly, those who had money to burn. And despite security personnel being present, none of these scalpers seem to get caught. Are they in cahoots?

At the end of the four hour wait, the tickets left unsold were more than ten times what we could afford.

We were forced to watch the Philippines versus Kazakhstan in a nearby restaurant. What was surprising was that when we were watching the game, there were still some seats in the Mall of Asia Arena that were vacant. Management could easily reason out that these were seats purchased / reserved in advance but customers simply did not come to avail of.

But what I would like SM's leaders to improve is their queuing management especially for one-time big events such as these. I would suspect that managing the Finals game would even be a greater task. But people shouldn't be wasting time. Sure, having long lines is a form of publicity - but it also showcases inefficiency. There could easily be a monitor, posted along the queuing hallways, showing how many seats are taken, and how much space is available, and how much ticket prices cost, so that unsuspecting customers are not duped and the practice of scalping could be lessened, if not eliminated.

The only consolation for the people in queue was being able to see stars like Vic Sotto & Pauline Luna, Tito Sotto, Anjo Yllana, Bayani, Ogie Alcasid, and Olsen Racela enjoy their comfortable VIP rooms with glass walls, their beer and delicious food, as they watched the game in giant TV screens, sitting in comfortable chairs. I once thought that the queue was one of the things in life, such as sickness or death, which does not discriminate. But yesterday's experience reminded me and perhaps many other Filipinos of the great divide between the rich and the poor in our country, and that queuing is an act not just of the poor and underprivileged, but even of the middle class.

So for those having trouble getting tickets reserved for the game, you are better off staying at home and watching the FIBA Finals game comfortably from your local channel. You too, could sit lazily at home, drinking and eating, while enjoying the Finals game with the company of your friends and loved ones.