All 12 member teams received the 2020 President’s Award for their all-out support of the league’s successful staging amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the PBA Press Corps Awards Night Sunday at the TV5 Media Center.
These are challenging times indeed, but the teams — Ginebra, TNT, Meralco, Phoenix, San Miguel, Alaska, Magnolia, Rain or Shine, NLEX, Blackwater, NorthPort, and Terrafirma — remain committed to their people.
So for their financial sacrifices and deep love for the game, the group covering the PBA beat honored all teams with the prestigious honor.
Accepting the award on behalf of all 12 teams were Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone, Beermen chief mentor Leo Austria, and PBA chairman Ricky Vargas. The award was presented by PBAPC President Gerry Ramos of Spin.ph.
The rest of the league was jovial when it raised the curtains of its 45th season last March 8, 2020. But the novel coronavirus pandemic then struck, leading to the suspension of all activities for eight months.
Despite that long break, the teams did not stop paying their players, coaches, and staff to make sure that they remained well taken care of amidst the crisis.
In fact, all 12 teams even agreed to extend the contract of the players with expiring deals until the end of 2020.
So the league continued to stay afloat despite the trying times, and each and every member of the huge PBA family received help, Eventually, their efforts led to the resumption of the 45th season in a bubble in Clark.
It was not without a hitch, but the league’s resiliency showed up, and the unprecedented tournament ended successfully.
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