PBA decides on restart this week

MANILA, Philippines — The PBA Board of Governors will be convened for a crucial meeting to determine the terms of the 45th season restart this Thursday and commissioner Willie Marcial hopes by then, the IATF will have given the green light for teams to resume 5x5 scrimmages.

Marcial submitted a letter to the IATF through Health Secretary Francisco Duque requesting approval for 5x5 scrimmages last Monday. The reply is expected this week and the expectation is it will be positive as since the PBA opened restricted training in limited numbers last month, the process has been smooth sailing under high-standard safety/health protocols.

Marcial said he would’ve preferred the teams to train for seven weeks before the restart of the season, tentatively on Oct. 9. The plan was three weeks of individual conditioning workouts and four weeks of 5x5 scrimmages. But government guidelines required an adjustment. Marcial said the PBA will still be ahead of the NBA in terms of training weeks before the Florida bubble welcomed the restart. The NBA had less than four weeks of training, including inter-team scrimmages, before the season was reopened last July 30 and the lack of time could’ve been a reason for the high incidence of player injuries. Marcial said injuries are what he’s trying to avoid because of limited training time.

If the IATF approves 5x5 scrimmages this week, Marcial said PBA players will get six weeks of training compared to less than four weeks in the NBA. Getting players in game-shape is critical but Marcial said it’s more important to make sure they’re safe. Marcial said the concern for safety is why the PBA won’t schedule tune-up games. If tune-up games are held, they will be under the training closed-circuit protocol. Once the season is restarted, it will employ a stricter playing protocol, perhaps a bubble or a semi-bubble. Marcial said he’s not risking the players’ safety by allowing tune-up games before the season restarts.

In the PBA Board meeting last Friday, proposals to resume the season were discussed. It was an extended meeting that began at 10 a.m. and lasted until about 4 p.m., including a 1 1/2-2 hour brownout in between while discussion continued. All the Board members, except Phoenix governor Atty. Raymond Zorilla who participated via zoom, attended the meeting physically in the PBA viewing room in the league office. Bases Conversion Development Authority CEO Vince Dizon and Clark Development and Clark Development Corp. president Noel Manankil presented a proposal for Clark to host a PBA bubble during the meeting. Three other proposals were made by representatives of the Marriott Hotel, Lio El Nido Resort and a Batangas hotel. In all, the PBA received 20 host proposals, 13 from Metro Manila, nine from the provinces and one from Dubai.

Marcial said if the season reopens Oct. 9, it could end by Dec. 13. The eliminations could take a month, possibly featuring everyday games. The semifinals will be two best-of-five series and the finals, best-of-seven. Marcial said he has talked with Cignal TV vice president for channels and content Sienna Olaso on coverage plans and the network has laid out exciting innovations for the restart.

Marcial said whether the games will be under a bubble, semi-bubble or closed-circuit system, testing will be mandatory. In training, the cycle is rapid-swab-rapid testing. But once the season reopens, it will be only swab testing with the frequency still to be determined. In the NBA bubble, swab testing is done daily. Marcial said details of the restart will be tackled and finalized by the Board on Thursday. Aside from safety as a high priority, he said other concerns are testing and costs.