NCAA determinadong idaos ang Season 96

MANILA, Philippines — Determinado ang National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) na maisagawa ang kanilang Season 96 sa gitna ng kinakaharap na coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

At kung kailangan ay sasagutin ng NCAA ang COVID-19 vaccines para sa mga atleta at opisyales.

“We will finance the vaccination of our athletes and officials,” wika kahapon ni NCAA Management Committee (Mancom) chairman Fr. Vic Calvo, OP ng Colegio de San Juan de Letran sa Philippine Sportswri-tersAssociation (PSA) Forum online.

Posibleng manggaling ang bakuna mula kay Dr. Jose Paulo Campos, ang NCAA policy board member at pangulo ng Emilio Aguinaldo College, na ang pamilya ay co-owner ng Unilab na distributor ng Covovax COVID-19 vaccine brand.

“We were told by Dr. Campos it (Covovax) will be available by May, so we have to start falling in line,” ani Calvo. “The terms are okay and EAC as member of the NCAA will also help us.”

Kinansela ng NCAA ang kanilang Season 95 noong nakaraang taon dahil sa  COVID-19 pandemic.

Tatlo hanggang anim na sports events lamang ang idaraos ng NCAA sa plano nilang pagbubukas sa Mayo.

“If we’re not allowed then we’ll go online. Crea-tive naman tayo eh,” sabi ni Calvo. “Hindi naman tayo naggi-give up because the NCAA embodies the Filipino resiliency and perseverance lalung-lalo na sa sports.”

Balak ng liga na mai-sagawa ang mga non-contact sports na kagaya ng online chess, taekwondo at poomsae.

Ipinapanukala rin ng NCAA sa Commission on Higher Education (CHED) at Department of Education (DepEd) ang pagsasagawa ng basketball, volleyball at beach volleyball.

“For sure, at least da-lawa o apat na hybrid and online competitions ang inihahanda ng NCAA,” ani Calvo na naghihintay rin ng ‘green light’ ng Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF).