MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings guards LA Tenorio and Earl Scottie Thompson view the bubble-style restart of the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup as interesting and one-of-a-kind.
In an interview with The Athlete’s Tribune podcast on Monday, Tenorio said the “PBA bubble” will be a level playing field among 12 teams.
“Tingin ko walang team-to-beat dito kasi lahat naman kaming mga players ay start from scratch,” Tenorio said. “I expect this conference to be very interesting and at the same time unpredictable.”
“Personally, noong una, I am excited (for PBA bubble), but, habang tumatagal, nagkakaroon ako ng anxiety,” he added. “Honestly, nagdadalawang isip ako to play sa bubble but I have to do it for my team and as a professional basketball player.”
Tenorio also said it was also a game changer for the Kings as they will be competing for the All-Filipino conference glory without the cheers of their legions of fans.
“Kahit wala naman sila physically sa venue, we feel them naman,” Tenorio said. “Siguro kukuha na lang kami ng inspirasyon sa isa’t isa. Enough motivation na iyon.”
Thompson, for his part, said he is excited with the targeted league return, which is still pending approval from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“Hindi kami sanay na walang basketball. Pero habang papalapit ito, may concerns,” Thompson said. “Pero para sa akin, kakaiba ito, ‘yung team na magiging successful, tatatak sa buong PBA kasi minsan lang itong bubble.”
“Ako naman nakapag paalam na ako sa family ko and they are very excited for me,” he added. “Sa team naman, same mindset pa rin kami siguro. Never say die pa din.”
The Kings are aiming for their second PBA championship after ruling the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup earlier this year against Meralco Bolts./PN
