Philippines not following Taiwan footsteps

MANILA, Philippines — While neighboring Taiwan resumed with its pro baseball season last week, major sports leagues in the Philippines are not rushing things in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PBA, Philippine Superliga, and Premier Volleyball League are awaiting the government’s go signal for the games to resume.

The reopening depends largely on how soon the government will lift the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) order and the ban on mass gatherings.

The ECQ had been extended until April 30.

"Hindi natin alam kung hanggang kailan tatagal,” PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said. “If sabihin nila pwede na, start na uli ng practice yung teams, for one month yun, then start na games.”

The PBA has shortened its current season into two conferences or even one tournament if the quarantine drags on.

For the PSL, the plan is to stage the All-Filipino Conference post-quarantine, instead of continuing the interrupted import-flavored Grand Prix.

“Our agreement is once the quarantine is lifted, we’ll start in two or three weeks. We’ll give 10-14 days for all the teams to regroup first,” PSL president Ian Laurel said.

The PSL has prepared separate proposed schedules for a restart in July, August, and September.

For its part, the PVL has tentatively set May 30 for its Reinforced Conference.

“It may be moved as it will take around two months for the teams to train (once quarantine is lifted),” said PVL president Ricky Palou, who shared that the league may switch its tournament to the All-Filipino due to logistics.

Of course, it goes without saying that protocols will be implemented once the games resume.

“Bago kami natigil for a couple of games, we were strict in allowing entry of fans and we also had one game na talagang closed door,” said PSL's Laurel.

“We had temperature monitoring, placement of alcohol and disinfectants in the venues, and we had a protocol prepared by our medical officer. We’ll continue to implement that if we get back,” he added.

Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) became one of the few leagues to resume its schedule at the height of COVID-19. The games are played without fans, though.

Taiwan has kept its COVID-19 infection rate low, with 420 confirmed cases, 189 recoveries and six deaths as of Monday afternoon. 

It’s much higher in the Philippines, with 6,259 confirmed cases, 409 deaths and 572 recoveries through Monday afternoon.