The reimposition of stricter COVID-19 health protocols in Metro Manila has forced the Philippine Basketball Association to postpone all scheduled games until it gets the go signal from the Games and Amusements Board to resume the tournament.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial was hoping for the league to continue holding the Governors’ Cup games without the fans but the revert to Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila prohibits all contact sports, including basketball.
Nevertheless, the PBA, in an official announcement on its website, said it has already sent the GAB a letter, hoping to get a reply on its queries on how to resume under strict health protocols.
The league also has to coordinate with the host city or municipality.
Metro Manila has been placed under Alert Level 3 from January 3 to 15. It came following the sudden surge of COVID-19 cases just after Christmas.
“Besides the GAB, the PBA also needs the approval of Local Government Units (LGUs) allowing it to hold the games. Should the GAB allow the PBA to go ahead, a nod from the LGUs is still needed before it could conduct the games,” said the PBA statement.
Before the latest surge of COVID-19 cases, the PBA has already been allowed a 50% percent capacity crowd at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Its Christmas Day double-header that featured games between NLEX and Phoenix and Ginebra vs. Magnolia drew a crowd of 4,843.
In a previous report, Marcial said it will abide by the order of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
But he did not discount running the league again under a semi-bubble setup, possibly at the Ynares Center in Pasig City.
Under a semi-bubble, players and team members will play in a home-gym-home setup. Their movement will be under strict monitoring and a regular COVID test will also be put in place.
The PBA has also successfully managed to complete two Philippine Cup conferences in the last two years under a full bubble set up in Pampanga, where all the players, staff, and league officials were confined within an area and no one was allowed to go home until after the end of the tournament.