By CARLO ANOLIN
Commissioner Willie Marcial felt like receiving an early Christmas present after the successful run of the first-ever bubble season of the PBA.
Capping off the 45th season of the country’s most prestigious basketball league, Marcial couldn’t hide his happiness and gratitude for all the people behind the inaugural bubble when he spoke to One Sports’ courtside reporter Denise Tan.
“Parang Pasko sa akin, pati sa mga PBA [staff],” said the 59-year-old Marcial after the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings beat the TNT Tropang Giga 82-78 in Game 5 of the Finals Wednesday night at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center.
“Malaking bagay sa’min, malaking bagay sa’kin na naitawid natin ang bubble.”
The PBA is just one of many leagues globally that was put to test when the coronavirus pandemic set the sporting world at a standstill early this year.
Since its first Philippine Cup game this season last March 8, a duel between former conference champion San Miguel Beermen and the Magnolia Hotshots, the PBA had to overcome several hurdles before coming up with a comprehensive proposal pending for the government’s approval.
After seven long months, the PBA successfully resumed with a one-conference season that started on October 11 after drawing inspiration from the bubble setup of the NBA.
The elimination round, however, was marred with problems and the conference was temporarily postponed from October 30 to November 2 following the reported “breach” in the bubble.
A player and a referee that officiated during their certain game had earlier tested positive for COVID-19 but was later declared a “false positive” as antigen tests showed negative results.
After all the confusion, the league had to make a more compact schedule and pushed through with quadruple-headers, including morning games, until the end of the elimination round.
And it wasn’t an easy road for Marcial and the PBA family.
“Inuna ko muna ‘yung mga players,” said the PBA chief. “Nakausap ko sila kung ano gusto nilang gawin, anong kondisyon natin. Noong nakausap ko sila humingi ako ng cooperation sa kanila tapos ‘yung mga coaches. Ang laking bagay na open communication ‘yung coaches and players. Kaya naituloy ‘to. ‘Yung sakripisyo talaga para sa fans,” added Marcial.
Even NLEX Yeng Guiao, the in-game analyst for Game 5, knew the struggles Marcial and the rest of the PBA crew had to conquer for the sake of the bubble success.
“Very emotional si Commissioner [Marcial] because I knew and I know what kind of logistics, what kind of patience, what kind of sacrifices it had to take for this bubble to be succesful,” said Guiao, whose team NLEX exited early after failing to barge in the playoffs with a 5-6 finish. “One thing I’m proud of — because I’m from Pampanga, taga-diyan ako, malapit ako dyan sa Clark — I’m really proud of the way the people got together [inside the bubble].”
Marcial later on expressed his gratitude to the PBA faithful for the unending support even without the presence of a live audience as the PBA is set to open its 46th season in April 2021.
“Ito pong sakripisyo namin ng players, coaches and PBA family para po sa inyo. Kung kaya po ng PBA, kaya din po [ninyo]. ‘Wag kayong mag-alala, makakaraos din po tayo sa pandemyang ito.”
