Report: ABL not shutting down
MANILA, Philippines — The ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) denied reports made earlier this week of a looming league shutdown, saying that they remain financially stable.
According to a report by ESPN's Eros Villanueva, ABL minority owner and Saigon Heat official Connor Nguyen said that the league's future was "secure".
"There is no plan of shutting down the ABL, so not sure where that came from. But someone put it out there and I guess the rest just ran with that," Nguyen told ESPN.
Reports about a possible shutdown surfaced on Thursday, citing the league's chief operating officer Jericho Ilagan.
Financial losses due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were one of the main reasons cited for the possible shutdown.
However, Nguyen maintained that the league remains financially stable.
"The situation with ABL is not much different than it has been for the last five years," said Nguyen.
However, the official admitted to ESPN that there were cost-cutting measures that led to layoffs in the league.
"When it became clear that the COVID-19 situation was quite serious and we wouldn't be able to resume the league for quite some time, there just wasn't work to be done," he said.
Timelines for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 season have also been admittedly affected by the pandemic.
After competition was stalled in March, Nguyen thinks the league won't be able to continue the current season later this year and thus pushing the opening of the 2020-21 season to early next year.
"It's more likely for us to organize the competition sometime in February 2021," Nguyen said.
ABL squad Alab Pilipinas was at pace this season to regain their title in the league, with their second spot in the standings firmly in place before the shutdown.
Alab head coach Jimmy Alapag earlier said they did not have any clue on the league's plan on whether or not the season will resume amid the health crisis.
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