The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has hurdled one major obstacle in its quest of staging a second conference sometime later this November.
Commissioner Willie Marcial said that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has concurred to grant special permits to imports. This is a welcome development for ball clubs facing challenges in securing commitments of foreign reinforcements.
“Ang DFA, through the Office of the Consular Affairs, nagbigay na ng parang visa or permit na okay na, para makapunta na rito ang mga imports,” the amiable executive told Tiebreaker Times on All Saints’ Day.
“Pinadala na nga ng Foreign Affairs sa kanya-kanyang consulate or sa kanya-kanyang mga embahada para ma-pick up ng mga imports,” he added, noting that the member teams have also been notified about such.
Some teams have reportedly contacted imports for the next cage wars. Players could not fully commit, though, mainly due to the uncertainties brought about by the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in the country.
Likewise affected by the pandemic is the plan for the import-flavored tilt’s start. It was initially set on November 12, but certain restrictions have made Marclal and Co. aim to open by the third or fourth week of the month instead.
The fourth-year league chief shared that the games could return to a semi-bubble. The setup would be similar to the recently-concluded Philippine Cup if the alert level in the National Capital Region will not downgrade.
Presently, Metro Manila is under Alert Level 3 until November 14 as the authorities continue to monitor the movement of the virus.
“Sinabihan ako ng IATF na kapag Level 2, okay. Kapag hindi naman at kung gusto namin, magbu-bubble kami. So siguro, iche-check namin semi-bubble, parang ginawa natin,” said Marcial.
“Kaya, magmi-meeting kami ng governors – siguro by next week – kung papaano,” he added.
Should everything fall into place, the second conference will act as the first import-laced meet to held since the 2019 Governors’ Cup. Only one all-Filipino competition took place last year due to the global health crisis.
But unlike in the season-ending tourney, the league has set a height limit of 6-foot-6 for foreign cagers this time. It also requires them to be fully vaccinated.
