The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will have to remain inactive indefinitely.“We don’t know when to resume. Walang malinaw, ‘di pa alam kung kalian magsimula,” a somber PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial told the Inquirer on Tuesday.
There’s no way to move, but Marcial has refused to be helpless.
If things don’t improve by October, Marcial said they would have no choice but scrap the entire 45th season.
It’s a pity, because they have prepared a grand celebration, topped by a road show through Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, to showcase the growth and gains of the first professional basketball league in Asia since its founding in 1975.
————————-The PBA, needless to say, got floored, flat out.
It has refused to stay stunned and useless.
The PBA has, in fact, joined in the fight to combat the mysterious coronavirus monster.
If to a ball game, there’s a horrible mismatch, with the coronavirus scoring almost at will, as the pandemic surges unhampered all over the world.————————-Unknown to many, the PBA has been in the thick of the fight since early April, when the board of directors initially set aside a million pesos to purchase personal protective equipment to help front-liners from various sectors.Veteran scribe Eddie Alinea has reported how assistance from the PBA has reached hospitals in Pasig, Antipolo and Biñan in Laguna.
Help from the PBA has also reached the Veterans’ Hospital and the National Center for Mental Health.
————————-There’s a growing list of institutions and facilities, including the Philippine National Police and hospitals in other provinces, whose front-liners the PBA has assisted.
Commissioner Marcial was not too keen on stating the assistance they have been extending, although he could not help but be amazed at efforts of players like Stanley Pringle, and others who have banded together to raise funds and provide food and other necessities to needy sectors.
Marcial has to assign a separate staff to attend to the material contributions and send them to the proper channels.
The PBA, on the losing end, is thankful and feels rewarded that it has been given a chance to join in this fight against the deathly COVID-19 monster. INQ