Alab Pilipinas and fellow teams seek ABL to suspend games

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

With the other big leagues like the PBA and the NBA suspending their basketball operations amid the COVID-19 issue, the ASEAN Basketball League as of the moment still had not canceled their activities.

Philippines-based team Alab Pilipinas coached by Jimmy Alapag and the other squads are already asking the ABL management to cancel the games, including the regional away matches.

Joining Alab in the request to cancel basketball operations for the safety of everyone are Hong Kong Eastern, Formosa Dreamers of Taiwan, and the Macau Black Bears.

Although Alab stopped playing since February 23 due to ABL’s postponement regarding the COVID-19 scare, some teams were still in active schedule.

The Singapore Slingers, despite the issue, is still following strict ABL game schedule, playing in home and away games which means traveling from one place to another.

It’s not only the Singapore Slingers, but also numerous teams in the league are still in active match operations, with the ABL management having no definite statement regarding the situation.

“Since the ABL is a regional league and travel will be difficult and risky, Alab Pilipinas together with Hong Kong Eastern, Macau Black Bears, and Formosa Dreamers deem it appropriate to request the ABL to follow the NBA and other sporting leagues in suspending our season,” the statement read.