MANILA – The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has temporarily suspended the remainder of the 2020 Philippine Cup action at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga.
In an advisory on Friday, the PBA said it will comply with the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to postpone games until the latest protocols are laid out.
“In compliance with the recommendation of the IATF-EID Technical Working Group and the DOH Advisory Group of Experts and to ensure the integrity and safety of the PBA Bubble, the league is postponing the games starting today, Oct. 30 until the new protocols proposed by the IATF and DOH are out in place,” the PBA said.
“The PBA would like to thank the IATF, DOH and Clark Development Corporation for their continuous support and guidance,” it added.
The decision came weeks after a referee and a Blackwater Elite player were suspected to have the coronavirus disease 2019. They were later tested negative via antigen and swab tests.
As a result of the incident, two Elite matches against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and Magnolia Hotshots were postponed. A TNT Tropang Giga match was also postponed after their final match last week.
After Thursday night’s games, Tropang Giga was on top with a 5-1 win-loss slate, followed by the Painters with 4-1, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings and San Miguel Beermen with 4-2 each, Alaska Aces has 5-3, and Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters has 4-3.
Completing the standings were Meralco Bolts (3-3), Elite (2-3), Hotshots (2-4), NLEX Road Warriors (2-5), NorthPort Batang Pier (1-4) and TerraFirma Dyip (0-5)./PN
