Rising COVID-19 cases shakes up PBA’s plans anew

FILE – PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial together with PBA Deputy Comm. Eric Castro
during the players’ dialogue about the proposed bubble. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines — PBA commissioner Willie Marcial admitted that the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the country has affected the league’s plans ahead of its proposed season opener next month.

Among those shaken up is the league’s inaugural 3×3 competitions.

“Even the 3×3 got affected,” Marcial said in Filipino on the PBA website.

“How can we even start if everything’s stopped? It’s hard to do programs and schedule. Teams also need to practice but how can they?” he added.

Nonetheless, the league fully supports the government and the Inter-Agency Task Force’s decision to place Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal and Laguna under a strict general community quarantine from March 22 to April 4.

The PBA initially targeted an April 11 opening for its 46th season before moving it tentatively to April 18.

“We’re not going to follow up our request for approval yet because we know well the situation we are in,” said Marcial.

“We’ll wait for April 5, the end of the two-week IATF bubble. We’ll wait for their announcement, then we’ll assess the situation.”