The PBA is eyeing a familiar province in Pampanga as a possible venue to resume its 2021 Philippine Cup games.
Commissioner Willie Marcial confirmed the development to Manila Bulletin in a text message on Friday, August 6, a day after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) allowed the league to continue in areas under the more relaxed General Community Quarantine (GCQ) or Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) restriction.
The PBA, which was holding games at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, temporarily suspended the Philippine Cup last Wednesday in accordance with the implementation of the GCQ with heightened and additional restrictions in the National Capital Region from July 30 to August 5 due to the rising COVID-19 Delta variant cases in the country.
Prior to the imposition of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ)--the strictest quarantine classification--in NCR starting on August 6 to 20, the league submitted a request to the IATF for a temporary transfer to Lipa, Batangas.
However, Batangas together with neighboring province Quezon was placed under GCQ with heightened restrictions beginning on August 6 to 15.
"Should the community quarantine classification of their proposed new venue be escalated to a community quarantine classification higher than GCQ, the PBA should look for another venue that is under GCQ or MGCQ," the IATF said in its Resolution No. 131 released on Thursday.
With Batangas ruled out, the league is now looking at Pampanga and other places where it can formally resume the PH Cup which is currently halfway into the elimination round.
Asia's first play-for-pay league is no stranger to conducting a conference in the Culinary Capital of the Philippines, having staged the previous all-Filipino tournament under a bubble setup in Clark last year.
Marcial said nothing is concrete yet as they are still ironing things out.
Before the postponement, Magnolia solidified its grip of the top spot in the 12-team standings with an unblemished 4-0 record followed by TNT with 3-0 and Meralco with 4-1.