THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will kick off the Governors Cup—the second and last conference of its 46th season—on December 8.
The good news is the games will be played in Metro Manila at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The bad news is the PBA won’t still let the fans in—at least in the meantime.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial confirmed to BusinessMirror on Monday the latest developments, adding that the league sees a silver lining in as far as allowing fans inside the venue is concerned.
“We are currently making presentations and holding meetings with different local government units in Metro Manila where there are bigger venues,” said Marcial, who earlier hinted that the PBA could be back soon either at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City and The Arena in San Juan City.
Metro Manila is under Alert Level 2 and completely vaccinated people are allowed at 50 percent capacity in enclosed venues.
The PBA targeted a November 28 opening for its import-laded conference but was prompted to postpone because not all foreign reinforcements are in town. Justin Brownlee of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Tony Bishop of Meralco are arriving in Manila on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
The LGUs, Marcial stressed, are the key to having fans back at the venues following the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on the resumption of contact sports in the National Capital Region.
Marcial said the league will offer discounts on tickets once fans are allowed to watch the games live.
Marcial also stressed that the PBA’s inaugural 3×3 tournament was a resounding success.
“Imagine there were three different leg winners—TNT Tropang Giga, Meralco and Sista ,” he said. “It’s good and all the teams have adjusted well.”