The Philippine Basketball Association will open its 46th season on July 16 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The Inter-Agency Task Force approved the resumption of the league in a meeting held last Thursday. The season will take place in a closed-circuit setup, meaning it will follow a home-venue-home setup.
The Games and Amusements Board bared the development.
“The IATF has already approved the resumption of the PBA in a meeting yesterday. The PBA will start on July 16,” said GAB chairman Baham Mitra.
For the past couple of months, teams from the PBA have been training in Batangas, Ilocos Norte, or Pampanga in preparation for the league’s restart.
League commissioner Willie Marcial has also assured that the league has inoculated 95-percent of its workforce as of a few days ago.
The league was able to get the nod to resume despite the supplemental Joint Administrative Order only allowing contact sport competition through a bubble modality.
With this, the GAB, the Department of Health, and the Philippine Sports Commission will make amendments to the JAO.
“The recommendations of the sports division have been taken into consideration by the Technical Working Group and that’s why the PBA went direct to the IATF. On record, we were present in the TWG and asked it to be approved. GAB and DOH will just include it in the JAO,” said Mitra.
One of the concerns raised by GAB’s pro division includes the safety of the household members of the players, staff, and league workforce.
They are hoping that their safety will also in consideration as they want assurance even with vaccination and regular testing, according to pro division chief June Bautista.
