THE PBA Commissioner's Office is choosing between two options on how to revise its playing calendar for the season-ending Governors Cup and clear the way for a longer preparation for Gilas Pilipinas ahead of the Fiba-Asia Men’s Basketball Championship.
The league board came up with as many as five proposals on how to clear the calendar for the August 1-11 showpiece in Manila during its planning session in Singapore last week, but Commissioner Chito Salud's choices are now down to two, officials confirmed.
One is to hold the Governors Cup, the final conference of the season which was supposed to start on May 12 and end in late July, until after the Fiba-Asia tournament.
The second is to play the Governors Cup elimination round in May and June, put the league games on hold, and then resume with the playoffs after the Fiba-Asia meet.
PBA media bureau chief Willie Marcial said Salud is carefully evaluating both proposals.
“Pinag-aaralan nang mabuti ni commissioner `yun," said Marcial. "Hopefully within the week, makapag-decide na siya.”
The three proposals that were already ruled out include holding three matches per game day in the Governors Cup, the shortening of the semifinals and Finals to a best-of-three and best-of-five series, respectively, and shortening the schedule of the third conference.
Immediately shot down by the board was the option for the outright cancellation of the Governors Cup, as well as the holding of games on a daily basis.
“Pag nakapag-announce na si Kume, maaring mapaganda pa kasi pwedeng mabigyan ng two months na training `yung Gilas Pilipinas,” Marcial added.
Revising its calendar for the season-ending conference is one of the key adjustments being adopted by Asia’s pioneering pro league to help the national team get ready for the Fiba-Asia qualifying meet, which the country is hosting for the first time in 40 years.
The top three finishers in the tournament will earn berths in the 2014 FIBA-World Basketball Championship in Spain.
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