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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Wait is over: PBA resumes action

Wait is over: PBA resumes action

Published Oct 11, 2020 10:01 am
Zero crowd, less grandeur, but fans are eagerly anticipating the resumption of the Asia's first play-for-pay league. (PBA Images)

The PBA officially makes its grand return from a seven-month layoff on Sunday with diehard fans expected to be glued either through their television sets, laptop or mobile phones.

Matches featuring TNT and Alaska at 4 p.m. and crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra San Miguel opposite NLEX at 6:45 p.m. inside Angeles University Foundation will serve as a first step toward a slow resumption of activities on the local sports scene.

Expect long-time followers and some casual fans of the league to be amped up over seeing the country’s best players battle it out for the most prestigious title of the season — the Philippine Cup.

The said conference, which hands the champion the Jun Bernardino Perpetual Trophy, will be the only conference to be held in the season set under a bubble concept in Pampanga.

A P65-million investment, the PBA bubble was implemented with the aim of assuring the safety of players, coaches, officials and staff over the next two months at the maximum.

Only missing for this unique setup are the fans, who last appeared on March 8 when the PBA opened its 45th season at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with San Miguel Beer taking a 94-78 win over Magnolia.

For the meantime, fans will appear virtually through LED screens inspired by the ones used in the current NBA bubble.

For at least the opening day, expect viewers to be content on seeing their heroes suit up after the respite.

By the time the season rolls on, performance of the teams will be highly discussed until Nov. 11 when the eight-best finishers of the eliminations advance to the playoffs.

The four teams with inferior records will leave the Quest Hotel immediately while those who remain resume the chase for the title until two teams are left standing weeks before Christmas.

Expected to stay in the bubble past mid-November is Ginebra, which last saw action in January when it completed a 4-1 series win over Meralco to capture the Governors’ Cup crown.

A packed crowd was on hand at the Mall of Asia Arena to witness Ginebra’s latest run to glory. This time, the advantage of having its legion of supporters won’t be present opposite NLEX.

It will be one of the adjustments teams will make, apart from their fitness level and ability to endure missing loved ones. But for now, everyone in the PBA circle is looking to the resumption of games.

Related Tags

NLEX Road Warriors PBA bubble TNT Tropang Giga Quest Hotel 2020 PBA Philippine Cup Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
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