MANILA – Players from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) expressed their support for the proposal to continue the league’s postponed season inside a bubble.
In a dialogue with Commissioner Willie Marcial on Wednesday, the players said they are fine being secluded in only one place just for the PBA’s 45th season, which has been stalled for six months now, to finally resume amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“Lahat sila willing maglaro sa NBA (National Basketball Association) type bubble or semi-bubble. Ayaw nila ng closed-circuit (All of them are willing to play inside an NBA type bubble or semi-bubble. They do not want a closed-circuit system). They requested to do away with it,” Marcial said.
The NBA is so far successful in implementing the bubble system inside the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida as none of the league’s players has contracted Covid-19 at the moment.
Marcial will bring the players’ plea to the PBA board of governors on Thursday in its meeting.
Also to be discussed will be the location of the proposed bubble.
Last week, three undisclosed venues made the shortlist, and on Thursday, the board will tackle which among the three will officially host the bubble.
The schedule of the games will likely be tackled too in the PBA board meeting.
Marcial bared that the possibility of a compact schedule is now gaining traction.
“We’re looking at finishing the eliminations in one month, then the quarterfinals in four to five days, then best-of-five (semifinals) and best-of-seven (finals),” Marcial said.
With Marcial’s proposed schedule, it is likely that the games will be played daily.