Bacolor welcomes PBA

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said yesterday bringing the league to Bacolor, Pampanga, was a long time coming and now that the Philippine Cup has resumed in the town of about 50,000 residents, it’s a glowing tribute to the efforts of provincial Governor Dennis Pineda and Cong. Dong Gonzalez to stage the games at the historic Don Honorio Ventura State University.

A total of 13 games is in the PBA schedule that started yesterday and will continue daily until Sunday. At the moment, NCR is under MECQ until a reassessment is made on Sept. 7. Pampanga is under MGCQ, a notch higher than the GCQ with heightened restrictions imposed in Batangas. Marcial said the PBA and its teams are booked in five hotels in Angeles City, Mexico and Bacolor for two weeks. If NCR is placed under GCQ and MMDA allows the resumption of action in Metro Manila, games will be brought back to the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

“Depende ‘yan sa IATF,” said Marcial. “Kung by October, GCQ na uli ang NCR, baka pwede natin tapusin ang eliminations at quarterfinals sa Bacolor tapos lipat natin semifinals at finals sa Ynares.” The PBA will be flexible in its schedule and rely on guidelines from IATF. If the conference ends by the third week of October, there will likely be a five to seven day break before the start of the second tournament. It’s possible the PBA will end the two-conference season in February or March.

Last Tuesday, Marcial was in a zoom meeting with Cong. Gonzales, provincial administrator lawyer Charlie Chua, Ventura university president Enrique Baking, Pampanga management committee, PBA deputy commissioner Eric Castro and PBA executive assistant Mich Flores to virtually sign the MOA confirming the PBA’s schedule in Bacolor. “Strikto protocols natin,” he said. “Sa Clark bubble, every 14 days ang testing pero ngayon, every Monday ang RT-PCR testing tapos every playing day, lahat may antigen testing, including referees. Sa Monday testing, malalaman resulta by Tuesday at the latest kaya pwede pa mag-adjust ang schedule sa Wednesday.”

Marcial said both Gov. Pineda and Cong. Gonzales are sports fans so it wasn’t difficult to negotiate the PBA’s schedule in Bacolor. “Matagal ng pangarap ni Cong. Gonzales na makalaro ang PBA sa Bacolor, even one out-of-town game lang pero ngayon, we’ll be playing multiple games kaya tuwang-tuwa siya at ang mga kalalawigang Capampangan,” said Marcial. “Homecoming din ito para kay Jayson (Castro) kasi nag-high school siya sa Bacolor. Si Cong. Gonzales ay nasa Board of Trustees ng Ventura kaya madaling naayos ang playing venue. Involved din siya sa Pampanga team ng MPBL. Historic ang Bacolor at naging capital ng Pampanga noong 1755 at capital ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas ni Governor General Simon de Anda noong British occupation ng Maynila ng 1762-64.”

Ventura is also historic as it was the first state university in Pampanga, established in 1901 as the Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Bacolor later the Pampanga School of Arts and Trade until it became the Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University. During World War II, Bacolor was the center of the Filipino insurgents battling the Japanese troops until the Liberation in 1945.

Marcial said the PBA’s welcome to Bacolor is also a sign that the town has fully recovered from the lahar disaster in 1995 when over 20 feet of molten lava slid from the slopes of Mount Pinatubo to bury 18 of the town’s 21 barangays, resulting in the death of hundreds. The lahar raised the town to its current level of about 37 meters above sea level. “Nakabangon na ang Bacolor at ang pagdating ng PBA ay isang positibong pahiwatig na maganda na naman ang takbo ng buhay sa bayan.” Bacolor is in the history books as the hometown of several illustrious Filipinos, including former Solicitor General, Pampanga Governor and renowned lawyer Estelito Mendoza, Ambassador Charlie Valdes, Justice Ricardo Puno Sr., former Secretary of Transportation and Communications Ping de Jesus, the first Filipino priest ordained in 1654 Fr. Miguel Jeronimo de Morales, the first Filipina to establish the orphanage Asilo de San Vicente de Paul Sr. Asuncion Ventura, the 1939 International Convention on Contemporary Art winner painter Vicente Alvarez Dizon who beat artists from 79 countries including the famous Salvador Dali and the first Filipino to write an English novel in 1924 Zoilo Galang.