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    COLUMN: NBA and its 'bubble' a hard act to follow for the PBA

    Hard not to be negative when you look at the PBA's attempt to restart its season
    Jul 12, 2020
    benchwarmer

    GIVE the PBA credit. No matter the odds, it is still trying to save what remains of its 2020 season even if the chances of anything getting off the ground is shrinking every passing day.

    The UAAP is gone, the NCAA is kaput, and volleyball, the country’s other popular mass sport, is also in hibernation. The same is true of boxing, tennis, golf, football, and practically every sport that requires passing, dribbling, shooting, kicking, or keeping score.

    But the PBA is still focused on getting back. And by any observer’s reckoning, the league is on life support as it attempts to give its Philippine Cup conference one last try at revival.

    The attempt got some oxygen recently after the IATF granted the PBA’s wish to resume players’ training, the first step towards a resumption of the Philippine Cup, also known as the All-Filipino conference, that was shut down after just one game last March 8 (San Miguel 94, Magnolia 78), still due to the pandemic.

    But training under very strict health protocols is a long way off from the actual resumption of games. The 12 teams under the PBA are not yet allowed to do scrimmages. Tune-up games are even farther down the road.

    PBA commissioner Willie Marcial targets August as the possible date for a 5-on-5 practice among team members. In a meeting with the PBA board, Marcial explained that he will closely be watching how the practice sessions play out. Only then will he make the recommendation to the IATF to allow the 5-on-5.

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    Meantime, Marcial said he will check and see if the PBA can duplicate health protocols adopted by the NBA which is due to restart its season on July 30. While that may be a good idea, Marcial may discover that there is very little in the NBA guidelines the PBA can duplicate.

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    The NBA protocols are so thorough, so farsighted, so complete and so expensive that the PBA, just looking at them, may feel sorry for itself and decide to shut down for the entire year. The NBA, after all, is not your average sports league. It has billions of dollars in its coffers. The PBA may not even be able to afford Covid-19 testing in the frequency required to ensure that team personnel are safe.

    To prepare for its reopening, for instance, the NBA herded 22 teams and their entourage to Orlando in Florida where they will live inside what the league called a “bubble.” While encamped there, no one is allowed to leave until the tournament is over as a precaution against Covid-19 infection. Those who leave without permission will be severely fined and placed in strict quarantine.

    NBA players and staff will live in three luxury hotels at the Disney World Resort, some for as long as three months, with each player having his own room. Food will be delivered to each room, and entertainment, digital and otherwise, will be provided 24/7. Should players decide to leave their rooms to break the tedium, they can go to a designated recreation area equipped with the latest playthings and electronic devices. These are meant to take their minds off their families and friends who are not going to be allowed to visit.

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      Besides these, there are Covid-19 tests before and after games. They also have plans for cases where players and staff, coaches and referees, may test positive.

      Back here, the PBA has no such thing as a “bubble.” Instead, what it has is a “closed circuit,” which will have team members practicing after taking a Covid-19 test three days prior to going to the gym. Then it’s back home, no stopovers anywhere. They will be given another test after 10 days.

      While this plan may look good, it does not guarantee freedom from the virus because players and other league personnel can still interact with family members and associates who may be infected.

      Yet nearly everyone in the PBA, coaches and players included, appears satisfied with the guidelines already issued by the league.

      “I think it's good. All we have to do is follow it,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

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      “I think the PBA has put up an effective guideline to safeguard the players. It's just a matter of attitude from the players to maintain it,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao.

      Well, this is one instance, you might say, when being positive is better than being negative.

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

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