Alert Level 3 stymies PBA Govs’ Cup, Nat’l stroke play tilt

Ginebra guard Stanley Pringle. PBA IMAGES

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup, which was supposed to resume its eliminations on Wednesday, and the first national amateur golf tournament in close to two years that was set to tee off at Manila Southwoods on Tuesday have both been called off until further notice.

Both postponements were offshoots to the alert level 3 status which the National Capital Region was placed under starting Monday, and the PBA and National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) made their decisions, citing the safety of everyone.

There were supposed to be more than 120 players taking part in the men’s and women’s National Stroke Play championship slated at the Legends course of Southwoods, which, according to the NGAP, had taken all necessary precautions to make sure that it would be a safe tournament for everyone.

The PBA has postponed all scheduled games, at least for this week, until it hears from the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) allowing the league to continue its tournament.

“We cannot ignore the warning signs that the latest IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) advisories indicate. We would rather err on the side of caution and not contribute to any risk of transmission [of the coronavirus] at our event,” Bones Floro, secretary general of the NGAP, wrote in his statement.

The PBA, meanwhile, has already sent a letter to GAB on Monday and hopes to get a reply within a few days.

Besides the GAB, the PBA also needs the approval of local government units allowing the Governors’ Cup to go on.

Before the latest surge of COVID-19 cases, the PBA was allowed a 50 percent capacity crowd at Smart Araneta Coliseum. Its Christmas Day offering drew a crowd of 4,843.

An option for the league, should the spike in cases remains unchecked and if alert level 4 is not imposed, is to go back to Ynares Center in Pasig City and play without fans once again.

“We’re ready for that scenario,” PBA chief Willie Marcial said on the possibility of fans being barred again. “It’s still safety first for the PBA.” INQ