FILE –Meralco Bolts vs Barangay Ginebra inside last year’s PBA bubble. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has secured the approval of the national government’s pandemic task force to open its 46th season July 16 in Pasig City, according to Games and Amusements Board (GAB) chair Baham Mitra.
“We are very happy that the PBA has been allowed to resume,” Mitra said in the GAB’s monthly virtual presser on Friday morning.
“The PBA requested to start its season at Ynares Sports Arena, where they will be adopting a closed-circuit, semi-bubble setup,” added commissioner June Bautista.
“The recommendations of the professional sports division headed by (Trinidad) has been taken into consideration by the (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’) technical working group,” added Mitra.
The PBA was originally set to open its season on April 9 to coincide with its anniversary. However, a spike in coronavirus cases has kept Asia’s pioneering league from doing so.
The Inquirer has reached out to league commissioner Willie Marcial for comment but he politely declined due to an ongoing meeting.
Marcial said in a previous interview that the league likely go in another shutdown should there be another surge in new COVID-19 cases.