Closed-circuit setup eyed for PBA’s 46th season

Philippine Cup. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — The PBA is looking at the possibility of incorporating a closed-circuit setup for its 46th season in April.

The league aims to begin the new season on April 9 four months after successfully completing its pandemic-ravaged Philippine Cup where Barangay Ginebra was crowned champion.

“If vaccine is not yet available, we’ll likely go for closed-circuit which we had implemented in our return to practices prior to the Clark bubble tourney,” said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial.

“Closed-circuit concept is a lot less lenient, requiring home-venue-home scheme; not lockdown in one place for the entire delegation as what we did in Clark,” he added.

The PBA was able to resume its 45th season in a bubble environment in Clark, Pampanga seven months after its suspension due to COVID-19

Marcial, however, doesn’t think staging another bubble season would be plausible.

“It’s hard. I saw how tough it was for the players especially for the first months,” he said.

In the absence of a vaccine, Marcial remains unsure whether the league would be able to revert to its usual three-conference season.

“We’ll be observing a wait-and-see attitude,” he said.