BY JONAS TERRADO
The fate of the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup will depend on when the collegiate leagues will start their respective seasons which could be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eleven of the 12 teams that joined the developmental league are from colleges and universities, and deputy commissioner Eric Castro said the Aspirants’ Cup won’t be restarted until it can determine when the UAAP, NCAA and similar competitions will be held.
“As we all know, most of the teams are collegiate teams,” Castro said in Tuesday’s online session of the PSA Forum. “We are actually waiting for the two major leagues (UAAP and NCAA) for their announcement of return.
“From there, we’ll see our calendar kung san natin pwede i-restart ang D-League natin,” added Castro.
The D-League was suspended in mid-March after just three playdates as COVID-19 cases in the country increased.
Ironcon-University of Santo Tomas, EcoOil-La Salle and Marinerong Pilipino, the only non-varsity team in the tournament, won their first two games before the suspension.
Also part of the 12-team field were NCAA champion Wangs-Letran, SEAOIL-Far Eastern University, KarateKid-Centro Escolar University, APEX Mindanao-San Sebastian, ADG Dong-Mapua, Diliman College, FamilyMart-Enderun, AMA Online Education and Technological Institute of the Philippines.
TIP, however, recently disbanded its team due to financial constraints related to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Castro also mentioned that the start of the inaugural 3×3 tournament will likely be moved next year.
The 3×3 tourney was supposed to start during the Philippine Cup but the pandemic likewise put those plans on hold.
