PBA looking at two-conference season for 2021

FILE – PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial during a press conference Wednesday night. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines–With the usual three-conference season is still a farfetched idea amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the PBA is looking at adusting its plans for the new year.

PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial, in an interview with former commissioner Noli Eala’s Power&Play podcast, said that everything the league will do in terms of the season format will still depend on the situation of the pandemic.

That means staging import conferences are still in the balance.

“We’ll see if we can have three conferences, if not maybe at least two,” said Marcial in Filipino. “If we can have three conferences then that’d be good, but we’ll try to have two conferences for this season.”

The league managed to stage the 2020 season albeit in an interesting manner.

The league held its opening game at Smart Araneta Coliseum in March and continued the remainder of the All-Filipino conference in October in the league’s bubble in Clark, Pampanga.

Marcial is skeptical whether foreign players are willing to play in the Philippines in the current situation and the possible safest way that imports are safe to come to the country is if they’ve already been vaccinated before flying in.

“Are imports willing to play here? And if they do, will they be subjected to quarantine?” said Marcial. “The imports’ situation is a big factor for us staging the other conferences. If they’re already vaccinated coming here, then they’re safe.”

“If they’re not scared of flying here, then they won’t be scared of playing. They won’t be scared of contracting the virus because they’re already vaccinated.”

Former PBA imports Justin Brownlee, and Allen Durham are already playing overseas in the United Arab Emirates and Japan, respectively.

Brownlee is with the Al Sharjah Basketball Club while Durham is signed with the Niigata Albirex BB in the B.League.

Ra Gun-ah, formerly known as Ricardo Ratliffe, is also with the Jeonju KCC Egis in the KBL while also suiting up as South Korea’s naturalized player.

“By June or July, if the situation improves, then we’ll know what to do,” said Marcial.