By JONAS TERRADO
The PBA will wait until August to decide whether to resume or cancel the 45th season currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Commissioner Willie Marcial said this after Saturday’s teleconference with the league’s Board of Governors that the option of cancelling the season lies on whether the ongoing health crisis will continue to affect the country until the target timeline.
“Maghihintay kami until August to decide whether it’s still a go or a season cancellation,” Marcial said in the online meeting called by PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas of TNT KaTropa.
PBA officials made this decision in reaction to the government’s recent decision to extend the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Metro Manila and select regions and a General Community Quarantine in other areas.
The government’s Inter-Agency Task Force had earlier decided that sports-related gatherings are barred under the ECQ and GCQ, thus making things difficult for an earlier return of the games.
Cancelling the season will be unprecedented for the league, which has never endured any disruption of this magnitude since it opened shop in 1975.
Weather-related issues and even a court order back in 2000 had forced the PBA to suspend games, but only on a short-term basis.
Meanwhile, the board also announced the suspension of any trades and the signing of players currently on the free agent market during the current situation.
Marcial, however, said teams can re-sign players whose contract have expired.
“The only transaction allowed is re-signing players whose contracts have lapsed,” said Marcial.
The teams may opt not to sign the players right away during the league hiatus. However, they have to sign the players within five days as soon as practices resume or the players become unrestricted free agents.