The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will allow the fans to watch live again starting on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Commissioner Willie Marcial said that the league has decided to do so as COVID-19 cases have dropped in Metro Manila recently, coupled with their confidence from the 100-percent vaccination rate among players.
“Starting Wednesday ay papayagan na po natin ang mga fans,” he said in a quick presser Saturday. “Pwede na sila bumili ng mga ticket, pwede na silang magpa-reserve ng tickets starting tomorrow para sa games natin.
“Kaya po ginawa natin ‘to, one, kasi 100-percent vaccinated na ang mga players at two, halos lahat na naka-booster na rin. Pagkakaalam ko 95-percent may booster na din mga players,” added the amiable executive.
“At, bumababa na naman ‘yung ating pandemya. Sa NCR, nag-aaverage na lang ata ng wala nang 500 sa huling nabalitaan ko.”
Marcial said that ticket purchases and reservations will be opened starting tomorrow, still with a 50-percent discount on prices.
Governors’ Cup games on Wednesday will see NLEX battle Magnolia at 3:00 p.m., followed by a heavyweight clash between San Miguel and TNT at 6:00.
“Mga 50-percent ang kinut natin sa mga ticket prices natin so ganun pa rin para dire-diretso na at makasama natin ang mga fans,” he said.
As far as the capacity is concerned, the fifth-year league chieftain said that it will depend on the alert level classification in the capital. Presently, Metro Manila and other cities and municipalities are under Alert Level 2 until February 15.
“Nung alert level two, 50 percent pero baka balita natin, baka mag-aalert one so baka payagan tayo ng 70 o kung papayagan na rin ang 100 percent. Pero sa akin, 70 percent, kahit 50 percent, masaya na tayo,” he said.
Fans will also be allowed entry to the venue when the league plays at the Ynares Center in Antipolo as the Big Dome will serve as host for the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers’ second window.
“‘Pag nagsimula ang FIBA, dun tayo sa Ynares, ganun pa din ang protocols, kung ilang percent ang papayagan sa atin,” said Marcial.
“Pinuntahan na ng mga tao natin ang Ynares, pati na rin ang TV, tinignan na nila, inano na rin nila mga seats. Naka-50 percent din tayo dun. So okay na rin tayo through the kindness of Mayor Junjun Ynares.”
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All PBA games stream live on GigaPlay. Download it now on Android or IOS.
The second game of each playdate is also livestreamed on SMART Sports.
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