The PBA 3x3 will have to wait for the 46th season to begin before the new halfcourt competition can push through with its inaugural tournament.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said limitations brought out by the government-imposed community quarantine guidelines are making it difficult for 3x3 teams to go ahead with its preparations, thus forcing the league to focus first on the start of the 5-on-5 season.
“Paano sila magpa-practice? Saan sila pwede mag-practice, Batangas lang. E, gamit-gamit ng mga teams yung mga gyms, e di kulang sa oras," said Commissioner Willie Marcial as quoted by the PBA’s official website.
“So mauna na muna sigurado ang 5-on-5 tapos tsaka pa yung 3x3,” added Marcial.
Metro Manila and provinces under the NCR Plus bubble were downgraded to General Community Quarantine regulations with “heightened restrictions” last May 15.
But the new regulations still prohibits teams from training in NCR Plus, which includes Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan.
The PBA had secured the go-signal of Batangas City to hold full practices and scrimmages while three teams opted to train up north with TNT and Meralco currently in Laoag, Ilocos Norte and NLEX in Pampanga.
With a stacked schedule, 3x3 teams will have to wait until quarantine classifications are lowered anew.
Sixteen teams have committed to participate in the PBA’s new 3x3 competition, with Meralco signing Jason Brickman, TNT getting Jeremiah Gray and Phoenix tapping Brandon Rosser.