PBA moves toward to resuming play in Pampanga

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)’s has moved closer to rebooting its stalled Philippine Cup in Pampanga province.

From the tedious phase of turning in a detailed proposal, the league is now in the process of completing paperwork to fully gain the local government’s go-signal, the Inquirer learned on Monday.

“As of now, we are waiting for teams to complete their certifications of acceptance from hotels and accommodations,” according to deputy commissioner Eric Castro.

These documents—and more, if needed—will be forwarded to Gov. Dennis Pineda, who will determine whether the league can relocate in the province, according to Castro.

“Hopefully, [we’re able to get an answer] this week,” he added.

The Inquirer reported Monday last week that the league was considering the cities of Angeles, San Fernando, and the municipality of Bacolor in Pampanga for staging sites for practices and official games.

There, the PBA delegation intends to pitch camps until the surge in new infections in Metro Manila is contained, putting together something similar to that of the bubble set up last year.

Castro, who also serves as the technical director previously said that there is a likelihood that the PBA stays in Pampanga for a while, and that the tournament schedule could also be compressed to meet the league’s October deadline for its all-Filipino showcase.

The capital’s hard lockdown is set to expire on Aug. 20, but Castro believes that the quarantine restriction is not likely to shift to the more relaxed General Community Quarantine.

Securing Pampanga’s nod, however, doesn’t mean the league can immediately proceed to play games.

Commissioner Willie Marcial said that he is looking to give teams at least a week’s worth of practice before reopening the tournament. This could be viewed as a preemptive measure against potential injuries.

A clearance by the end of the week places the league’s restart by the last week of the month, as projected by the league chief himself.

In the event that Pampanga also deals with a spike in infections, the league’s only recourse is to relocate once again.

“Should the community quarantine classification of their proposed new venue be escalated to a community quarantine classification higher than GCQ, the PBA should look for another venue that is under GCQ or MGCQ,” read a passage in the national pandemic task force’s resolution published earlier this month.

The PBA opened shop last July 16 and has played a total of 26 matches at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City before going on a break last Aug. 3.

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