Despite the strict quarantine rules necessitated by the lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19 the Philippine Basketball Association believes competition will resume late this year.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said he was not surprised with the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Management of Emerging Infectious Disease which was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte to extend the General Community Quarantine in Metro Manila.
“COVID-19 hasn’t been contained, and so I myself was expecting Metro Manila staying under GCQ for the rest of the month. Tingin ko talaga mga July pa mag-i-ease into less strict quarantine measures ang NCR,” said Marcial.
“And July would not be late for our teams to have physical activities in the gym, leading hopefully to full practices and season return sooner than later.”
He added that his meeting with player representatives will push through as scheduled on June 23.
He will then have a separate conference with the officials of the 12 PBA ball clubs including their team managers and coaches.
“Initially, it’s a meeting with team managers but then may mga coaches na nagsabi i-meet mo rin kami,” said Marcial.
The Board Governors have set August as the deadline when they will decide if Season 45 would resume or be scrapped altogether.
The PBA season started March 8 when the six-peat-seeking Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer topped Magnolia. It has since been stalled for the last three months as the government imposed strict quarantine protocols to stem the spread of Covid-19.