Behind every successful sports team are individuals who work hard to uplift each other.
This is the central message of Toby’s Sports’ acclaimed short film titled Liga, which was launched as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the country’s largest multi-brand sports retailer.
Liga, which has garnered almost a million views as of this writing, tells the story of Kevin (played by Art Artienda), a member of a championship-bound basketball team who feels that his efforts and sacrifices have gone unnoticed and underestimated, and that his time to shine in the league is long overdue.
which extols the value of teamwork.
When the team’s star player gets injured at a crucial point in time, Artienda’s character faces a dilemma: now that the ball is in his hands, is he going to take a once-in-a-lifetime shot to show the rest what he’s truly got, or will he set aside his personal ambition for the greater good?
Directed by Chris Cahilig and masterfully shot by Patrick Ferrer, Liga, just a week after it was officially launched, was selected to participate in four international film festivals, namely Dramatic Shorts Film Festival 2019, Live Action Shorts Film Festival 2018, International Shorts Festival Australia 2018, and the Los Angeles CineFest 2019 as semi-finalist.
“Liga best expresses the values that propelled Toby’s Sports to where it is now, 40 years after it was launched in the country as a modest toy shop. The short film celebrates the importance of teamwork, in the same way that we at Toby’s Sports pay tribute to every member of our growing family who contributes to our continuous success in the industry,” says Toby Claudio, president of Quorum International Inc., the parent company of Toby’s Sports.
“As we move forward, we will continue to embrace the digital medium in sending our message across and promoting our advocacy, making greatness more achievable for every Filipino, whether in sports or in life,” Claudio adds.
Toby’s Sports celebrated its 40th year of dominance in the industry with a grand event called “It’s Game Time” last Aug. 30 at the Metrotent Convention Center in Pasig City, where Liga was first shown to the audience. Attended by executives, members of the media, guests and special performers, the anniversary affair paid tribute to the men and women behind the success of Toby’s Sports and coincided with the retirement of its chief executive officer, Bobby Claudio.
Liga’s production was also made possible by assistant director Clark Lopez, line producer Melai Entuna, production manager Yani Bautista, production designer Carmela Danao, production coordinator Johanna Evangelista, crowd coordinator Bambi Selda, and writer Yuji Gonzales. It also stars Jolec Jeronimo, Jindric Macapagal, and Allan Villafuerte.
Liga can be viewed at Toby’s Sports official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/tobyssports.