MANILA, Philippines — At Sunday’s Game 1 in the best-of-three UAAP collegiate finals series, the Ateneo Blue Eagles drew first blood over rival La Salle Green Archers. In an article by Marlon Ramos, five suspected scalpers were caught allegedly selling tickets for P1,500–20 times the ticket’s face value of P75. Still, in another report by Jasmine Payo, two patron tickets, originally priced at P350, were sold at P25,000.

As a paradox, the blockbuster game showcased talents for game play that every fan would want to witness and be part of. Likewise, this paves way for opportunists to get into the business of selling overpriced tickets. It could be a simple case of symbiosis, or the law of supply and demand: die-hard fans buy overpriced tickets from scalpers to watch the game at the court and rally for their teams. Building up team spirit? For scalpers, this is an opportunity to sell overprized tickets to fans before the fight begins.

Genius or madness?

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