Choices for PBA bubble down to 3

MANILA, Philippines — The PBA has trimmed down to three the candidates for the site of its planned Philippine Cup bubble.

But the league said it will need a few more days before making the final decision.

Commissioner Willie Marcial said the board was presented with the proposals of 20 hotels offering to host the targeted games – 13 from Metro Manila, six from the provinces and one in Dubai – during Friday’s marathon meeting.

According to Marcial, there were four hotels that actually gave their own presentations during the meeting that started at 10 a.m. and lasted until late in the afternoon. They are Marriott, Lio of El Nido Palawan, and those in Clark and Batangas.

“The board made a short list and looks to decide by next week. There are still a lot of things to look at and factor in,” said Marcial, who declined to name the candidates.

Marcial submitted possible bubble concepts to the board.

One option is patterned after the successful NBA bubble, which calls for teams and officials to stay in a single locality. Another is the semi-bubble, where participants stay in a designated hotel and go to the venue from there. Then there’s the Bundesliga template, which features a strict home-venue-home routine.

“We expect a decision soon,” said Marcial, who’s eyeing an Oct. 9 resumption for the stalled tournament.

Meanwhile, Marcial ruled out the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai as a possible site due to time constraints.

“Dubai is really determined to host us but we feel there won’t be enough time to prepare if we play next month. So I suggested we do an All Star there and they’re receptive to it,” he said.