PBA moving tipoff

Teams still limited to non-contact conditioning

MANILA, Philippines — The PBA may push back its targeted April 11 opening for Season 46 especially with the current spike in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila.

The pro league has already filed a request with the Inter-agency Task Force on Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for the non-bubble games, and now awaits approval.

Commissioner Willie Marcial said they are ready to adjust the timetable – including the scrimmages leading up to the games’ proper – in case there’s a delay.

“If we’re allowed to play, we would have to give the teams 10-12 days to hold 5-on-5 scrimmages before we start the conference,” Marcial told The STAR. “So if we get the approval, let’s say the week after the Holy Week, we hope to start the games by April 18,” he added.

Teams are doing non-contact physical conditioning sessions by batches of five players as of now, 25 days before the originally intended tipoff.

Marcial said the PBA is currently looking at Ynares Center in Antipolo as a prospective hub of the competition to be staged under a closed-circuit setup.

“The Antipolo LGU (local government unit) is receptive to it (non-bubble games),” the PBA exec said.

Antipolo’s approval should go hand in hand with clearance from the IATF and Joint Administrative Order from the Department of Health, Philippine Sports Commission and Games and Amusements Board for the PBA to proceed with the games.

The pro league was initially looking at NCR for its planned 10-month, two-conference season. But given the ground situations, only a bubble-type competition may be feasible in the usual hoops centers in Metro Manila at this point.

The PBA already did a bubble Philippine Cup tournament over a two-month period in Clark last year. Noting the logistical challenges and mental health issues in a bubble, Asia’s first play-for-pay league prefers a closed circuit arrangement this time, where teams follow a strict home-venue-home routine while undergoing regular testing.