BY JONAS TERRADO
The PBA has no plans of holding a shorter version of the Philippine Cup if the suspended season will resume later this year.
Deputy commissioner Eric Castro said the league will retain the format of an 11-game elimination round followed by the traditional eight-team playoffs that include a best-of-seven series in the semifinals and finals.
Under Philippine Cup rules implemented since 2017, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams carry a twice-to-beat advantage against the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in the quarterfinals while the No. 3 faces the No. 6 and No. 4 takes on No. 5 in a best-of-three affair.
“We will continue with our Philippine Cup with the same format as we had before,” said Castro.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said that the result of the only game held prior to the suspension will reflect in the team standings once the league decides to salvage the season that was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the government-imposed community quarantine.
That means San Miguel Beer will have a 1-0 record upon resumption by way of its 94-78 victory over Magnolia in the season opener last March 8 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
League officials are waiting until August if it is possible for the season to continue with the Philippine Cup as the lone conference.
For now, the PBA continues to wait for an official word from the Inter-Agency Task Force if teams can be allowed to practice in July as a first step towards a full resumption of league activities.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said the health guidelines proposed by the league were received positively based on informal talks with the IATF.
“Mukhang positive (ang reception ng IATF). Tinitignan natin kung kailan,” said Marcial, adding that the go-signal will still depend if the government will implement a more-relaxed version of the community quarantine by next week.
