PBA back in business as bubble game, unprecedented season begins

A 7-month hiatus officially ends Sunday afternoon, when the PBA returns to the hard court with a double header amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the lead of the successful bubble tournament in the NBA, the top national league resumes play in the 2020 Philippine Cup with TNT Tropang Giga versus Alaska at 4 pm, and NLEX and Barangay Geneva meeting at 6:45 pm

Games will be held every day in one location, the University of Angeles Foundation Gymnasium in the city of Angeles, Pampanga, with no spectators, and teams will play on a compressed schedule expected to end in December. , as long as there are no problems.

The league will strictly enforce medical guidelines to prevent COVID-19 infections.

“The rules and protocols are set to be followed for a reason,” said NLEX star playmaker Kiefer Ravena.

“You want to make sure that everyone, including your staff, maintains proper hygiene, social distancing with a mask, a mask.

“This is what you should not neglect because it is a mistake, everything may stop. It’s good to be safe so the league keeps coming back. “

Vince Dizon, president and CEO of the Base Development and Conversion Authority, who played a major role in opening Clark up to the PBA and thus bringing local professional basketball back, said expectations are rising. dimming.

“This shows that we are ready to slowly but surely return to the things we used to do before COVID,” said Dizon.

“As long as we do it safely, little by little we will try to achieve something close to normal amid the challenges we face.”

The PBA squeezed into a game for its 45th season, a victory defending All-Filipino Cup champion San Miguel Beer over sister team Magnolia on March 8, before suspending play just as the coronavirus broke out in a pandemic.

“All the teams here are trying to break the dominance of San Miguel and Geneva. They have just kept winning championships. They alternated between the two, ”said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao.

While all 11 teams want to focus on playing and stop thinking about a still-active health crisis, there will be questions entering the competition priced at P65 million, a significant fraction of which will go to making sure everyone who are part of the event does not contract coronavirus.

Given the hiatus in action that lasted for more than half a year, the longest hiatus the PBA has had since its inception in 1975, the rust of the game could have set in for players whose basketball activities were severely restricted during that time. weather.

The PBA also hopes that, like the NBA, it will finish the Philippine Cup without a case of COVID-19. Everyone involved in the bubble is housed in a single hotel within the Clark Freeport Zone.

It will also be interesting how teams will respond to an environment where there are no fans, particularly popular teams like Barangay Geneva.

Geneva head coach Tim Cone said the hiatus could level the field.

“I think it evens things out a bit. It evens out, because we’ll all come back after a long, long stretch, and we’ll go back to zero, “Cone said in an interview in August.

“The team that can get fit and rediscover their system will be the team that will have the upper hand.”

He added at the time: “But you know, we are looking forward.

“Right now we’re just thinking about getting back to work and chasing whatever is out there.”

Meanwhile, TNT will not feature Kelly Williams, who has retired, while Alaska’s Sonny Thoss opted out of the bubble.

Vic Manuel, Jvee Casio, Jeron Teng, and Kevin Racal head an Alaskan youth cast that also includes Yutien Andrada, Mer Jesper Ayaay, Rodney Brondial, Mike Digregorio, Abel Galliguez, Robert Herndon, and Abu Tratter, and rookies Kevin Ebona, Jaycee. Marcelino and Reynaldo Publico.

Maverick Ahanmisi, formerly of Rain Or Shine, will be trying to catch up as soon as he joins the Aces.

Alaska finished eighth in the 2019 Philippine Cup.

Barely missing the 2019 Governors Cup finals and yearning to do better in the bubble are head coach Bong Ravena and his team TNT, renamed Tropang Giga.

Poy Erram, Simon Enciso and rookie Kib Montalbo join a TNT team that features the core of Jayson Castro, Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy.