PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas said that the league has sent a letter to the Inter-Agency Task Force seeking approval for the bubble it plans to host at the Clark Freeport Zone for the season restart.
This is aside from an earlier letter the league had sent to the IATF, where it hopes to allow its teams to shift from per-batch workouts to scrimmages. The PBA has yet to receive a decision on the matter.
“We submitted a request for the scrimmages, and yesterday we also submitted a request for the bubble,” said Vargas in the Power And Play program, hosted by former league commissioner Noli Eala Saturday.
The league submitted the request to the IATF a day after its board of governors convened at the PBA Office in Libis. There, it chose the former US military base as the venue of the bubble for the resumption of Season 45.
The PBA has almost everything ironed out for its return. Now, it looks to proceed with the bubble and begin by Sept. 27, to give teams time to gear up for the targeted Oct. 9 start.
The tourney will have a single-round robin elimination, where the top four teams will have a twice-to-beat edge for the quarterfinals. The semis will be a best-of-five tiff, with the winners set to vie for the crown in a best-of-seven affair.
But as well-planned as the restart may seem, it remains subject to approval by the Task Force. Vargas and the league, though, have their fingers crossed that things would go their way to finally have the ball rolling.
“Ang kagandahan nito, we are also working with Secretary Vince [Dizon, Bases and Conversion Development Authority chief] and the chairman of Clark, Chairman Noel Manankil. And also, we’re in touch with GAB Chairman [Baham Mitra], who’s been very, very helpful in seeing to it that sports continue on the professional side. So, we have our fingers crossed,” Vargas said.
“But at the end of the day, sabi nga nila, we need to follow all that IATF and the Department of Health protocols. And we will do that. And we will patiently wait for their approval.”
