No imports this PBA season likely

MANILA, Philippines—It may take a while before the likes of Justin Brownlee and Chris McCullough make their way back into the PBA.

As per the league’s official website, the resumption of the current PBA  season may witness just the Philippine Cup with the possibility of the two import conferences getting scrapped entirely.

Commissioner Willie Marcial said that health and logistics amid the COVID-19 pandemic as the main reasons for the decision.

“It’s possible that there are no imports,” said Marcial in Filipino. “The problem is we don’t know if there are imports who’d want to play with us at this time. Of course we’re also afraid to bring them in right now. Will our players play with them?”

PBA has yet to get a go signal to resume action with the government only allowing non-contact sports to resume during the general community quarantine.

The Philippines is still in a virtual lockdown with the coronavirus disease infecting nearly 25,000 people.

Marcial said that the PBA may resume the Philippine Cup, which played just one game this year between defending champion San Miguel and sister team Magnolia, or restart it completely in 2021.

“If there’s someone who’d actually come here, he still has to undergo a 14-day quarantine period and when there’s a replacement that’s another 14-day quarantine period,” said Marcial. “So we’d have to go back with an All-Filipino setup.”

Basketball is still banned under GCQ, apart from individual home workouts.