PBA teams told to prepare for possible bubble anew

NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—With the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup stalled due to COVID-19, PBA teams have been told of the possibility of entering a bubble environment anew to resume the conference.

NLEX head coach Yeng Guiao said they word told that the league is planning to finish the elimination round of the All-Filipino Conference in Pampanga, where it also held a full bubble tournament last year.

The league had been playing its games in Pasig City but the entire Metro Manila was placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine due to rising cases and the emergence of the Delta variant.

“So we will most likely be in that bubble set up for three or four weeks because I think they will try to finish up the games at least for the elimination round in the bubble,” said Guiao in a statement posted on the Road Warriors’ website.

All of the 12 teams have played at least three games in the elimination round with Rain or Shine, which has a 4-2 record at the fifth seed, playing the most matches at six.

“Maybe after the eliminations, they [the PBA Office] will decide where to continue the games,” said Guiao. “We were told that if it goes to Pampanga, we have to stay in Pampanga.”

“It’s going to be a bubble set up also. We will have to look for a hotel. We need to live in the hotel, so we’ll go from hotel, venue, and practice facility. We were told that they will give us one week to practice and then the games will go on.”

The PBA initially planned on moving the games to Batangas City but was also scrapped due to new quarantine classifications.