ABC-7 Listens: NBA coverage in El Paso

EL PASO (KVIA) - A viewer who says he was a former sports reporter in San Antonio and just moved to El Paso sent an email saying that the KVIA sports staff should do more NBA stories.

David wrote: "I'm a former sports reporter from San Antonio. I've been living in El Paso since last October and it would be nice to see some NBA playoff  highlights on your sportscast. There's been major headlines in the NBA with very little being mentioned. I understand that local sports is important, but viewers like myself want see highlights of other pro sports besides the minor league teams of El Paso. I look forward to seeing a good sportscast tonight. There was definitely no mention of the playoff games during your sports report of the 6pm show this evening."

ABC-7 Anchor Paul Cicala answered David, saying: "Thanks for the e-mail David. I'm a former sports reporter/anchor as well, and I know how important it is for fans to get their highlights. That said, our commitment as a local station is to tell the unique stories of athletes here in the El Paso, Ciudad Juarez and Las Cruces area, so, those local stories take priority over national scores and headlines."

ABC-7 Sports Dirctor Adrian Ochoa also chimed in: " The ABC-7 sports department is committed to local sports. We want to provide viewers with content they won't see anywhere else. Time permitting, we most certainly will report on national sports events, especially championship games or playoffs. However, the priority will always be with the teams in the Borderland."

ABC-7's Paul Cicala added: "Now David, if some of these NBA Playoff games also have El Paso and Las Cruces connections, we'll be all over it.

In fact, we -have- been, especially since former New Mexico State standout Pascal Siakam suites up for the Indiana Pacers, who are leading the New York Knicks 2 games to zero in the Eastern Conference Finals.