Two basketball players are competing in a crucial PBA match.

PBA to decide on the fate of Governors’ Cup

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will hold an all-important Board meeting next week to decide what will become of the suspended Governors’ Cup.

The import-laden tournament has been suspended indefinitely following the massive surge of Covid-19 cases in the country. League commissioner Willie Marcial revealed in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday that he has talked to PBA chairman Ricky Vargas about the league’s future, and they will now consult with the Board to decide its fate.

“Magtatawag kami ng Board meeting next week para pag-usapan na kung ano ang dapat gawin kung saan patungo ang PBA,” Marcial said.

“Pag nag-meeting kami next week, malamang yan na yung fate ng PBA kung saan tayo patungo. Malalaman kung ano ba, itutuloy natin or hindi natin itutuloy? Anong gagawin natin sa imports, anong gagawin natin sa players? By next week, siguro may kaunti nang liwanag,” he added.

Although the league has not seen any action since the Christmas Day games, there is a ray of hope for the league after the Games and Amusement Board (GAB), through its chairman, Baham Mitra, endorsed to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) the resumption of the PBA games behind a so-called “Type C bubble” or a home-venue-home arrangement for everyone involved in the league.

At the moment, the entire National Capital Region and its nearby locales are under Alert Level 3 wherein professional leagues are still allowed provided they are held under a full bubble.

“Nag-endorse na sila (GAB) ng letter sa IATF na payagan na tayong maglaro. So nagpasalamat ako sa kanya (Mitra) dahil malaking bagay sa atin yun,” said Marcial.

“From there, tignan natin ano ang gagawin. Pero may kakausapin na tayo and magko-consult na tayo sa iba.”

Marcial is also open to the possibility of holding games outside of Metro Manila in venues like Clark and Pampanga. However, the commissioner is aware that even these venues aren’t foolproof.

“Malamang yan pag-uusapan yan next week. Pero ang sinasabi ko nga, kapag nag-bubble ba tayo sa labas (ng Metro Manila), sigurado ba tayong hindi tatamaan? Yun ang isang pinangangamba naming,” Marcial said.

For now, teams and players will have to make do with practicing in small clusters composed of seven people—four players, a coach, a utility person, and a safety officer.

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