WELCOME BACK, PBA!
THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) restarts its 45th season on Sunday with its one and only conference in this Covid-19 pandemic- struck year in a unique setting at the Clark bubble in Pampanga. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel battles NLEX in the 6:45 p. m. main game of the double- header with the Gin Kings playing minus their multitude of rabid fans at the Angeles University Foundation.
Besides the entire PBA entourage confined at the bubble for more than two months, the crowd are banned from the playing venue for the entire duration of the tournament that ends a few days before Christmas.
Alaska and TNT Tropang Giga raise the curtain to the stunted season that went into a seven-month lull at 4 p.m.
Ginebra Head Coach Tim Cone expressed relief as 6- foot- 9 Japeth Aguilar and court general LA Tenorio showed up at the bubble before the weekend, missing the team’s two practices as they went through stringent health protocols required of everyone in the facility.
NLEX and Ginebra had a thrilling match to remember in Dubai in October 5 last year when the Road Warriors pulled off a 113-111 victory in overtime. But NLEX Coach Yeng Guiao has already forgotten that classic game especially in these trying times.
“There are a lot of unknowns and a lot of things to be studied. The team that will have an advantage here is the one that can adjust and adapt easily in this kind of condition,” Guiao said. “This is a unique situation so flexibility, adaptability and resiliency are the keys here.”
Alaska Coach Jeffrey Cariaso, meanwhile, picked TNT as one of the strongest teams in the bubble after the Katropa beefed up during the lull with the acquisition of JP Erram, Simon Enciso, Almond Vosotros, Lervin Flores and rookies
Kib Montalbo and Rodel de Leon.
“TNT is star-studded. They were obviously busy in the off season acquiring important pieces,” Cariaso told Businessmirror through a text message on Friday, adding he is expecting the Aces’s defense need to be at high level against TNT.
“Our defense will be challenged but I am confident also that we have the pieces to play at a high level,” he said.
Alaska will be missing retired center Sonny Thoss as well as Maverick Ahanmisi, who is flying in from the US on October 17 or 18, thus missing two of the Aces’ games.
Bobby Ray Parks Jr., veteran William Jayson Castro and Jeth Troy Rosario are expected to step up for the Tropang Giga under Coach Ferdinand Ravena.