THE PBA is refusing to identify on which site it would hold its season resumption through a bubble environment.
A source, however, claimed the Smart Araneta Coliseum remains a strong candidate among the three being considered as a playing venue, with the final decision to be announced following a PBA Board meeting on Thursday.
“Araneta has a very good chance of being chosen,” the source told Malaya-Business Insight.
“For one, it was not used to house COVID patients or suspects, unlike the PBA’s other usual venues and even those now included in discussions, and on top of that it has its own safety protocols,” added the source.
“Araneta also has a hotel (Novotel) right next to it, plus the fact it has been the main (playing) venue for the PBA for years. Those should all be factored in.”
Commissioner Willie Marcial offered a word of caution.
“Baka masunog tayo diyan,” Marcial said when informed of what the source claimed.
“Hindi pa alam kung alin duon sa tatlo,” added Marcial. “Hindi pa natin tantiya kung ano sa tatlo ang pipiliin ng governors.”
Marcial even hinted it could be a combination of a hotel, where the teams and other related personnel would be housed, and a playing venue situated in another area.
“Kunwari hotel sa Pasay, venue sa Cubao o kunwari hotel dito (Quezon City) at venue sa iba, Mga governors mag-de-decide niyan. Iba-iba.”
Determining the site largely depends on what kind of bubble concept the governors would ultimately decide on.
The league is mulling an NBA-style bubble, in which all teams would be housed in a hotel near a playing venue.
Another idea being considered is the semi-quarantine, in which the players would stay in their respective homes but would be limited to travels to the playing venue and back, taken from the German Bundesliga and precisely what the PBA players’ routine are right now in their workouts.
Another is the semi-bubble, a unique PBA concept where the teams and PBA personnel would be housed in a hotel but the venue would be in another area.
The remaining candidates were pruned down last Friday by the PBA Board from among the 20 original bidders, which included nine provincial sites
Before the Board meeting, Marcial is set to have a dialogue with two representatives from each team today and tomorrow morning to get their inputs on the league’s bubble plans.