THE NCAA on a bubble?
That’s possible.
If there’s no other way, the league will consider holding its 96th season in a bubble next year.
This was bared yesterday by a highly-reliable Malaya-Business Insight source but insisted doing it will still largely hinge on the go-signal of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“That’s the last resort of the league but then again, only if and when the IATF will allow it, because the government’s ruling is clear that no vaccine or no cure for COVID-19, no tournament for amateur leagues,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
“The NCAA will look at that direction pero kung papayag ang IATF kasi sa kanila pa rin naka-depende. Gusto nga ng liga pero wala namang go-signal, wala rin,” the source added.
The source admitted having a bubble season like what the pro leagues such as the PBA, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3, National Basketball League, and the Philippines Football League are doing will be no easy task but the collegiate league teams return to conditioning workouts should not pose a problem.
“Iyong resumption of condition training ng collegiate league teams, I think doable naman.
Naka-dorm rin naman ang players most of the time (before the COVID-19 pandemic), so ibabalik lang sila,” the source explained.
“Kaso iyong actual bubble tournament, parang mahirap. Unang tanong diyan ay saan gagawin? And ang daming tao ang involved kung sakali and hindi lang naman basketball ang NCAA.”
The remainder of the 95th season was called off for good mid-March at the start of the stringent government-imposed health and safety protocols to curb the spread of the lethal pulmonary disease caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Among the sports that were scrapped were indoor volleyball, football, lawn tennis, soft tennis, track and field, beach volleyball, and cheerleading.
With the country’s pandemic woes having no end in sight, only the mandatory sports such as basketball, volleyball, swimming, and track and field are set to be played in the league calendar.
Online chess has been added to its slate, while esports will most likely be included in the NCAA 96th season.
