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    No fans in stands for Gilas games in Big Dome qualifiers

    Gilas loses biggest advantage at home :(
    Feb 8, 2022
    PHOTO: Jerome AscaƱo

    GILAS Pilipinas does not have the luxury of time and now, it also won't have its biggest advantage at home.

    Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Sonny Barrios bared that fans still won't be allowed at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for the February window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers later this month.

    "Wala po," he said on Tuesday's Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.

    "Yung sistema ngayon, dati nagpapaalam tayo sa PSC (Philippine Sports Commission), dahil hindi naman tayo professional league, as per JAO, and then IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases). Itong hosting natin ngayon, may third entity na kailangan nating pag-paalaman which is the LGU.

    "Nagpaalam po tayo sa Quezon City, ang sagot ng Quezon City, okay pero wala tayo munang paying fans sa ngayon."

    Aside from the games being an early warmup for Gilas ahead of the Fiba World Cup next year, the SBP is also taking this as a chance to finetune its hosting duties with the Big Dome being one of the Philippine venues for the World Cup.

    "Maraming detalye ang kailangan asikasuhin. Lalo na sa ngayon, because of the presence of the pandemic," said Barrios, saying the federation looks at this window as a dry run for next year's showcase.

    "Yung sa totoo lang, yung medical protocols, ina-update ng Fiba from time to time. I believe as late as yesterday, naga-update pa ang Fiba eh. For example, they decided na mag-antigen testing every day. Lahat ng participants sa bubble sa Araneta, akala namin mag-RT PCR only upon arrival and then on the fifth day. But we got word that they want to conduct antigen tests every day."

    He continued: "It's a small step, frankly, yung qualifiers na yan sa magnitude ng preparation for the World Cup next year. Baka 15-fold yung bigness ng World Cup. But like I said, mabuti na 'yung nagho-host tayo, and we're going through the system, if you will, sa Araneta which will be one of the venues. Marami pang infrastructure improvements na gagawin doon and we are in intense talks with Smart Araneta sa mga specifications, and a Fiba inspection group, in April, they're supposed to be coming and they will inspect all the facilities that we will be using, playing venues as well as hotels. Pero itong Pebrero, it's a small step towards that."

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    Aside from the Araneta Coliseum, also serving as main venues for the Fiba World Cup are the Philippine Arena in Bocaue and the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

    Indonesia will host group stage games at Gelora Bung Karno Indoor Multifunction Stadium in Jakarta, while Japan will have theirs at Okinawa Arena.

    All hopes aren't gone, though, as the SBP hopes that the continued decine in COVID-19 cases in the country, especially in Metro Manila which is now back to Alert Level 2, will lead to the fans being allowed at the games.

    "Tingnan natin kasi di ba ang update nila, every 15 days. So ang umiiral ngayon is yung advisory covering period of Feb. 1 to 15. Tignan natin yung development sa Feb. 16 to end of February, which will cover the qualifiers natin, kung may pag-asa," said Barrios.

    "Pero sa ngayon, wala tayo."

    Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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    PHOTO: Jerome AscaƱo
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