By JONAS TERRADO
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial believes it will go for a compact schedule rather than a shorter format if the season can resume in the middle of next month.
“Sa tingin ko hindi na natin babaguhin yung format. Ganun pa rin, pero baka damihan natin yung game days, (puwedeng) four or five times a week, or double o triple header (per day),” Marcial said as quoted by the PBA’s official site.
Marcial hinted in last week’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum that the league may shorten the staging of the Philippine Cup, the only conference that will be played if a resumption is a possibility.
Marcial had in fact tapped deputy commissioner Eric Castro to map possible formats.
But Marcial said it would be unfair for teams to have limited exposure if the PBA goes for a shorter version of the PBA’s most important tournament.
“Kung ikaw ang team owner, pina-suweldo mo yung buong team ng isang taon, tapos ang exposure mo lang sa akin lima (game), parang hindi naman worth yun,” said Marcial.
“Ayaw ko naman mangyari sa mga teams natin yun. Kung puwede mas marami, mas maganda. Hindi naman maiksi para lang matapos agad. Siyempre gusto natin ma-expose yung mga teams,” he added.
The Philippine Cup traditionally calls for an 11-game elimination round with the top eight teams advancing to the quarterfinals. The top two teams carry a twice-to-beat advantage while those seeded third to sixth meet in a crossover best-of-three series.
Semis and finals are both best-of-seven.
Marcial also disclosed the possibility of reducing the semis, finals or both to a best-of-five when the league’s Board of Governors meet next week.
