It’s practically all systems go for the restart of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 45. However, it still needs a go-signal from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to formally start its season.
For the PBA, everything is all set. The one and only PBA conference to be played this year, the “compressed” Philippine Cup, once approved to go ahead, will start on October 9 and will last for two months.
It will be held at the Angeles University Foundation (AUF) Gym in Angeles, Pampanga under a so-called “bubble” setup similar to that of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the US.
Meanwhile, all PBA delegates, from the 12 teams, league staff, and a few members of the media, will stay at the Quest Hotel located at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.
During game dates, they will all be transported to the venue, which is about 10 minutes away from Quest Hotel. The transport service that will be used will observe all strict health protocols mandated by the government for the safety of the delegates.
According to PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial, he hopes the league will get approval for full scrimmages by September 27. Once approved, he said the league will then get approval for the games to continue.
Also, under the “bubble” format, players won’t be allowed to leave even if it involves family reasons and if they do leave, they can’t go back in the bubble. Those violating health protocols will also be meted with a hefty fine of P100,000, coupled with an automatic one-month suspension without pay to be imposed by the team, plus a five-game suspension the following season.
(In photo: PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial. Photo credit: PBA.ph)