LOSING a conservative estimate of P30 million a month as it continues to be sidelined by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Philippine Basketball Association expressed determination to ride things out until it gets back to doing what it does.

One of the guests at the online forum of the Philippine Sportswriters Association on Tuesday, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial shared the ongoing “lull” they are having as a result of COVID-19 has considerably affected the league financially but that they are staying afloat and trying to find ways to resume their activities.

“We are losing over P30 million a month [from the inactivity] and it is just a conservative estimate. And the amount is only for the league office and does not include the losses that the individual teams are incurring,” said Mr. Marcial in the vernacular.

“We are losing income from gate receipts, television, sponsorships, and, of course, we continue to pay our personnel,” added the PBA chief, who was joined in the PSA forum by league deputy commissioner and operations head Eric Castro.

The PBA suspended its ongoing season on March 11 as COVID-19 started to take further root in the country and the government came out with mitigating measures to help stop the spread of the highly contagious virus, including prohibiting mass gatherings like sporting events.

Mr. Marcial said during these trying times they consider themselves “fortunate” to have savings to draw from.

“We are losing a lot. We are sacrificing so much. But it is what it is. Even other businesses are experiencing this. Good thing we have some savings from which salaries can be drawn from,” he said.

But despite being buoyant up to this point, Mr. Marcial underscored the need for them to start to work their way back despite the understandable risks.

“There is fear, of course, but when will we start taking actions?” said the PBA chief.

With Metro Manila put under a more relaxed General Community Quarantine (GCQ) setup starting this month, the PBA saw it fit to reach out to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), the lead agency tasked to handle measures against COVID-19 and its effects, for the league to be allowed to squeeze in some activities, particularly for teams to be given the nod to have practices for conditioning.

Along with the request is the set of protocols the PBA has crafted to ensure proper health and safety measures are observed. The league said in coming up with the return rules it was guided by protocols set by concerned governing agencies, including those from health and sports.

Mr. Marcial reiterated that the league’s return to action all begins with IATF giving the thumbs-up for the PBA’s proposal for a phased-in resumption of activities.

As of this writing, there are now 22,992 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, with 4,736 recovering and 1,017 perishing. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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