FILE — One of the games inside the PBA Philippine Cup bubble in Season 45. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—The PBA’s quest for a June start to the season will have government intervention, working with the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases in order to procure the necessary vaccines.
League Commissioner Willie Marcial said that the PBA can only resume competition when the COVID-19 cases in the country start to drop but they’re also setting up their own vaccination network for their teams.
“We’re asking the help of Sec. [Carlito] Galvez [the IATF vaccine czar] so that the PBA will have an allocation,” said Marcial Thursday in a virtual press meeting.
Alfrancis Chua, the San Miguel Corporation Sports Director, added that the government will sell vaccines to the PBA which would put the league in a “special slot” for vaccine procurement.
The league, though, is also expecting to receive vaccines from both the SMC and MVP groups who pledged to procure vaccines on their own and share them with the other clubs.
“The vaccines will come from the government, they’ll sell it to the PBA. They will give us special slots so that we can vaccinate the players, their families, coaches, and staff,” said Chua.
“Whatever comes first, that’s what we’ll use. If the vaccines the MVP and SMC groups arrive first then that’s what we will use,” added Chua.
Marcial, however, said that vaccination will not ensure that the league will open the new season as that still hinges on the overall situation of the pandemic in the country.
The Philippines recently breached the 1 million mark earlier this week and daily cases are still in the thousands.
“This is what the government told us, even though we’re vaccinated but the cases haven’t gone down then the PBA will not continue,” said Marcial. “The cases should go down.”