PBA Season 46 finally begins; triple-header on opening day
AFTER an extended wait, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) finally opens its Season 46 on Friday at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.
The league will kick off the season with a Philippine Cup triple-header beginning at 12:30 p.m., followed by matches at 3 p.m. and then 6 p.m.
The start has been long time coming for the league, which initially was angling to begin its new season in the second quarter of the year, but the approval it was hoping for from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) did not come, leaving it with no choice but to be patient and wait.
It got the nod to start last week, after presenting anew its proposal to the IATF, which in turn, finally agreed under the understanding that the PBA will adhere to existing health and safety protocols.
Unlike last year where the PBA held a full “bubble” in Clark, Pampanga, this time around the league will employ a “closed circuit” setup where participants’ movements are limited to home-gym-home and closely monitored.
Protocol violators will be given fines and suspensions while regular testing will be in effect. No fans will be allowed in the game venue.
“We don’t want the league to be a problem. We are in full support of the resumption of professional sports. We are of course guided by the joint administrative order, which the IATF asked us to follow,” said PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial of their opening while reiterating their commitment to the guidelines set.
The Philippine Cup features a single-round-robin elimination format, with the top eight advancing to the playoffs.
The league will hold triple-headers every Wednesday, Fridays, and Sundays until the opening of the league’s inaugural 3×3 tournament in August. Double-headers, meanwhile, are set for Saturdays.
Kicking off the proceedings on Friday is the match between the Alaska Aces and Blackwater Bossing at 12:30 p.m.
The Aces, who finished sixth in last year’s tournament, will be parading a relatively intact core, boosted by rookies Taylor Browne, RK Ilagan and Ben Adamos and free-agent Gab Banal.
Blackwater, meanwhile, has added Baser Amer from Meralco, Simon Enciso from TNT and Kelly Nabong from Northport to bolster its young crew.
Playing in the 3 p.m. contest are the NLEX Road Warriors and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Both teams ended in the middle of the pack of the Philippine Cup last year and are looking to do better.
Kiefer Ravena is expected to play for NLEX despite talks of him suiting up for the Japan league while number three rookie pick in this year’s draft Calvin Oftana is set to make his debut for the team.
Rain or Shine, for its part, will now play under new coach Chris Gavina and has added rookies Leonard Santillan, Anton Asistio and Andrei Caracut to its fold.
Capping off the opening-day offering is the joust between the Meralco Bolts and Northport Batang Pier at 6 p.m.
The Bolts had a semifinal finish in last year’s tournament, coming within a win away from making it to its first-ever Philippine Cup finals appearance.
Part of the team now are Mac Belo from Blackwater as well as rookie Alvin Pasaol.
Northport, tied for last place in the 2020 Philippine Cup, meanwhile, will welcome back star guard Robert Bolick from injury and have new players in rookie Jamie Malonzo and young cogs Sidney Onwubere, Jerrick Balanza and Jeepy Faundo.
Seven-footer Greg Slaughter, who the team acquired in the offseason in a trade with Barangay Ginebra, has yet to rejoin the team after leaving for the United States last month to be vaccinated for the coronavirus. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
