By JONAS TERRADO
PBA teams have until Wednesday afternoon to submit their 15-man roster for the planned resumption of the season under a bubble setup in Clark, Pampanga.
Commissioner Willie Marcial has set a 5 p.m. deadline for teams to finalize their lineups before they can head to the Quest Hotel in Clark for the season restart on Oct. 9, pending the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force.
Teams can sign free agents during the period but Marcial said no trades will be allowed, given the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Final lineup is Sept. 23 at wala nang trades for this conference. Final na yun,” Marcial said in Monday’s episode of Sports Page on TV5.
TNT did sign up backup center Chris Javier after being let go by Blackwater in order to fill out the void left by Kelly Williams, who suddenly announced his retirement several weeks ago.
NLEX may opt to get one after Larry Fonacier elected not to participate in the bubble due to family reasons, according to coach Yeng Guiao.
San Miguel Beer, which will enter the bubble carrying a 1-0 record by virtue of its 94-78 win over Magnolia last March 8, won’t be having June Mar Fajardo who continues to recover from his injured shin.
Once the rosters are final, teams can no longer make any transactions inside the bubble. They’re also allowed to have a maximum of 25 personnel, including coaches, staff and officials inside Clark.
Players, coaches or staff who had a positive result will immediately be quarantined while those he had close contact with will be tested.
While that may put teams in jeopardy of losing a game by forfeiture, the league agreed to relax its rules by allowing a minimum of six players in uniform instead of eight.
