The question as to when the PBA’s 46th season will start now lies on the Inter-Agency Task Force after the league presented its case on Wednesday, July 7.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial is hoping for a favorable nod from the IATF after attending the meeting presided by Foreign Affairs undersecretary Dodo Dulay of the agency’s technical working group.
A story on the PBA website said Marcial asked the IATF if it can hold the season at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City under a closed-circuit concept and without the presence of fans.
Health and safety protocols will still be in place even if 95 percent of the PBA players, coaches and staff have been vaccinated.
Marcial and the league were eyeing an April start to the 46th season until a surge in COVID-19 cases a month prior forced the government to implement stricter measures.
PBA teams were eventually allowed by the IATF to have full practices and scrimmages, but only places outside of NCR Plus due to stricter General Community Quarantine guidelines that bars indoor training.
Currently, most teams are training in Batangas which is under the normal GCQ measures while some opted to train in Pampanga and Ilocos Norte.
Marcial previously said that the league is eyeing a two-conference schedule with the centerpiece Philippine Cup followed by the Governors’ Cup which could see the possible return of imports.