Kai Sotto for the Adelaide 36ers. –36ers Instagram
MANILA, Philippines—National Basketball League (NBL) commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said the league’s season opener could be delayed amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Australia.
“We’re still scheduled officially to start on November 18,” Loeliger said on the NBL’s website.
“Given that we’ve always said our priority is our fans and allowing them to attend as many games in their home city as possible, it would be derelict of us not to continue to monitor and consider current circumstances of whether or not push that date back a little further.”
If pushed back, Filipino fans will have to wait a little longer before seeing Kai Sotto play in The Land Down Under.
The 7-foot-2 Filipino signed a multiyear deal with the Adelaide 36ers in April.
Just recently, Melbourne, one of the most populous cities in Australia, hit a record high in coronavirus infections despite being on lockdown.
The NBL has yet to release an official schedule for its upcoming season and it likely won’t announce one too soon considering the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Australia.
“I don’t think it’s too distant in the future before we see a schedule put out there. You would like to think in the next two or three weeks there would be a schedule out and about. Everyone is conscious of the fact that you publish that schedule and then wait for it to change.”