MPBL postpones Thursday games due to Carina

FILE– An MPBL game between Caloocan and Quezon. –MPBL PHOTO

MANILA – The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) also called off its scheduled games on Thursday night as Caloocan City and the rest of Metro Manila are still reeling from the ravage of Super Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon.

Following the Metro Manila Council’s decision to place the entire metropolitan area in a state of calamity, the regional league called off its supposed three-game schedule at the Caloocan Sports Complex with the last two games having playoff implications.

Caloocan was supposed to host San Juan in a potential preview of a first-round series in the North Division Playoffs at 8 p.m.

Pasay was supposed to face off Nueva Ecija in a rematch of last year’s Round of 16 affair at 6 p.m.

The first game would have featured Bacolod against Imus in a battle between teams at the bottom of the South Division standings at 4 p.m.

The MPBL already postponed its Tuesday night games due to Carina, which according to Pagasa dumped heavier rains in Metro Manila overnight than that of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” in 2009.

According to league rules, games with potential postseason consequences can be rescheduled after the original end of the regular season, although it is also possible that the games could be played instead sometime during the home stretch.

“The league expresses its sincere thoughts and prayers to the victims of the flood across the country,” the MPBL said in a statement on Wednesday.

The league already scheduled Wednesday to be a break from action way before Carina ravaged Metro Manila and surrounding provinces.

The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) also postponed its scheduled matches for Thursday, which means no professional league will hold games for the night.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the MPBL will return to action on Friday night with a highly-anticipated battle between Abra and Paranaque at the latter’s home, the Olivarez College Coliseum.

Mark Yee, who started the season with the Patriots, is returning to Paranaque for the first time as a Weaver.

The Quezon Huskers, which suffered its first loss of the season against the Voyagers at the latter’s home last week, look to bounce back against the South Cotabato Warriors right before Yee’s homecoming.

The first game will have Quezon City taking on Bicolandia.