FOR two consecutive days, the PBA came on the verge of cancelling two Governors’ Cup games due to monsoon rains rendering playing courts unplayable.
A strong leak in the Ninoy Aquino Stadium roof delayed the Magnolia versus Meralco game on Friday night, while the same problem at the Montalban Ynares Center almost led to the cancellation of the San Miguel-Macau contest on Saturday.
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While the league managed to finish both games, there were questions on what happens if a game is suddenly called off.
Commissioner Willie Marcial shed light on the matter.
In the case of the Hotshots-Bolts match, the game was halted before the start of the fourth period as a leak left a portion of playing court all wet at the height of the heavy rains.
Magnolia was holding on to a 71-70 lead at the time.
With the uncertainty of when the pouring rain would stop, the league gave a one-hour grace period for the game to resume. Otherwise, it would totally postpone it altogether.
In such a case, if the game was rescheduled for another day, resumption will be made based on the time and score where it ended.
“Kaya kung nilaro sa ibang araw yun, magre-resume yung game on the same period at same score kung saan nagtapos,” said Marcial.
Good thing after 40 minutes, the rain stopped and made the court playable again. The Hotshots outscored the Bolts in the final 12 minutes to take the 105-88 win.
The PBA faced a different scenario in the San Miguel-Macau match, where leak on the roof of Ynares Center was already obvious while both teams were still warming up.
The start of the game was delayed for about 20 minutes as staff and stadium hands repeatedly mopped the floor. Even when the match was already in full swing, the court had to be wiped from time to time in order to keep players from harms' way.
Play was again halted with 1:06 remaining in the first quarter when heavy rains began to fall anew as more leaks showed on half of the playing court.
By then, San Miguel led, 35-20, as import George King accounted for 19 of his team’s total output.
The game was again delayed for about 20 minutes and with the NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council) repeatedly issuing an Orange rainfall warning, there was a looming threat of the game being cancelled.
The commissioner already talked about the possibility of cancellation, of which both teams were amenable.
In such case, the rule to be applied is different to the Magnolia-Meralco scenario.
Re-scheduling the San Miguel-Macau duel meant starting the game all over again.
“Ang rule kasi kung sa first half na-cancel ang game, magsisimula ka ulit from the start,” said Marcial, meaning the 35-20 lead of the Beermen with 66 seconds remaining in the opening quarter would've been wiped out.
“Pero kung nag-start na ang second half or naglalaro na sa third quarter, tapos biglang na-cancel ang game, ang mangyayari katulad nung sa Magnolia-Meralco game.”
No such thing thankfully happened, and the game was able to resume as the Beermen won by a blowout, 131-79.
PBA rules compared to FIBA rules
Marcial said the rule in effect was the PBA's and not under FIBA.
“Mas mahirap yung sa FIBA,” he said. “Sa FIBA kapag nahinto ka, simula ka ulit hanggang sa una.”
For good measure, the PBA decided to postpone its scheduled doubleheader at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Sunday well ahead of time as monsoon rains continue to batter the metropolis.
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