The Pasig City LGU, headed by Mayor Vico Sotto, has already cleared the PBA in holding its games at the Ynares Sports Arena for Season 46.
Commissioner Willie Marcial said as much Friday, hours after Games and Amusements Board (GAB) Chairman Baham Mitra announced that the league has been given the go-signal by the Inter-Agency Task Force to play.
The fourth-year league chief said that the Ynares family has also granted the league use of the venue, which has hosted the D-League before.
“Kausap ko kahapon si Governor Junjun okay na rin sila makapaglaro sa Ynares sa Pasig,” Marcial said in a virtual presser Friday.
“Kausap ko na rin si mayor Vico na pumapayag na rin siya makalapaglaro. Pupuntahan ko rin siya personal next week,” he added. “Sinasabi niya na alam naman niya kung gaano kalahalaga ang basketball sa ating mga Pilipino.”
The league finally got the IATF approval it has been waiting for on Thursday, and it’s all systems go now for them beginning July 16 — seven months after wrapping up its historic Philippine Cup bubble in Clark.
It was supposed to open earlier this year but a spike in COVID-19 cases halted such plans. But all that is a thing of the past now, as Asia’s pioneering pro league will finally get the ball rolling once more.
According to Marcial, it was MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos who first told him about the development, much to his delight.
“Nalaman ko na inaprubahan tayo ng IATF kahapon thru Chairman Abalos, kinausap niya ‘ko pagkatapos ng meeting nila with IATF na okay na raw,” he said in a virtual presser Friday. “Nag-congrats, sabi ko maraming salamat.”
Marcial also took the opportunity to thank the others who have helped the league in its bid to return to action amidst the on-going pandemic, led of course by Senator Bong Go and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
There’s also testing czar Sec. Vince Dizon, who was also a key figure in the PBA’s staging of its bubble in Pampanga last year.
“Unang-una, magpapasalamat ako sa mga kanino dapat magpasalamat. Nagpapasalamat po ako sa ating government, kay Senator Bong Go, kay Executive Secretary Medialdea, sa IATF, kay Secretary Vince Dizon.
“Kay MMDA Chairman Abalos, kay [MMDA] General Manager Jojo Garcia, kay Governor Junjun Ynares, kay Mayor Vico Sotto, kay Usec. [Brigido] Dulay ng DFA, at kay GAB Chairman Baham Mitra,” he added.
