MANILA, Philippines – No thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, collegiate leagues like the National Collegiate Athletic Association will be delayed, and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines could be headed in that direction.
According to Fr. Vic Calvo, OP, athletic moderator of NCAA Season 96 host Letran, the league will not start in its traditional opening in July and they are in the process of coming up with “extraordinary” measures to combat the global health threat.
“We have to come up with ideas outside the ordinary for us to make the incoming NCAA work and it’s in the discussion right now,” said Calvo, who is in constant online communication with fellow Management Committee members.
Jose Rizal’s Paul Supan was tasked to formulate these innovations and should soon come out with proposals that should help the league prevent its athletes from spreading and getting infected with the virus.
While he didn’t mention specifics, there were reports that part of the discussion was doing closed-door games or turning to online just like chess.
“We’re still working on it, we’re laying down the framework for the season or seasons to come,” said Supan.
As for the UAAP, which usually unfurls every September, it will hinge on how the COVID-19 situation will improve or not.
“As they say, we don’t have a timeline. The virus has the timeline because pretty much the world is in a standstill,” said UAAP executive director Rebo Saguisag.
UAAP board representatives Mark Molina of Far Eastern University and Em Fernandez of Ateneo agreed.
“I would believe it will be affected in one way or another,” said Fernandez.
“Everybody has to adjust because we don’t want to put our athletes and the men and women of the league at risk,” said Molina.
There were reports that the UAAP will meet in two weeks to tackle the possibility of a delay, and worse, another cancellation.
Both the NCAA and UAAP called off its seasons last month because of COVID-19.