The Philippine Basketball Association will wait until August to decide whether or not to resume its 45th season.
The league’s board of governors held an online meeting on Saturday night to discuss its plans as the country continues to deal with the crippling effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Maghihintay kami until August to decide whether it’s still a go or a season cancellation,” league commissioner Willie Marcial told the league’s official website PBA.ph.
The league has suspended its activities last March 11 due to the pandemic, days after it opened the season. In the only game of the season thus far, San Miguel beat Magnolia.
The board has convened twice since, and among the options it has on the table for the resumption was to play just two conferences instead of the usual three, as it has agreed to shorten the season.
But that option seems close to impossible following the government’s extension of the enhanced community quarantine until May 15, and with further extensions depending on the situation.
Should the ECQ be downgraded to general community quarantine, it still won’t make much difference for sports in general as it will still bar sports-related mass gatherings from taking place.
Aside from the August timeline, the board has decided to suspend trades and transactions to sign up free agents.
“The only transaction allowed is re-signing players whose contracts have lapsed.”
