PBA looking to mimic NBA bubble for 45th season

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

After a tested and proven NBA bubble restart, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial and the rest of the board is looking to apply the same format heading into their 45th season.

PBA board president Ricky Vargas said that with the success of the NBA so far, playing the game they love while also registering 0 cases of COVID-19 in all of their past tests is one kind of a blueprint.

“The model is the NBA and we should just go ahead and move forward and look forward to the time that we play, whether it is the NBA way or a more innovative way,” Vargas said.

In their initial plan, Vargas and Marcial are looking at Laguna, Cubao, and Clark as possible venues for the PBA bubble.

Aside from the three, the board also revealed that the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna where the TNT Katropa currently train will be added to their options.

“We do not want the popularity of the PBA to lose out also because we’re not doing anything. Our fans could be more aggressive than us and we would like to satisfy all their concerns,” Vargas added.

However, one major concern if the PBA bubble will push through is money, especially during lockdown where the teams still pay their players despite playing no games in the league.

“As it is, the PBA financials is also stretched. We’ve been 5 months or going on 6 months that we have been supporting the PBA operations without any revenue coming in. Hopefully, we can get sponsors to help us out, then they will be able to help defray the cost,” Vargas spilled.