PBA Bubble in Clark: The Equalizer

In the past five seasons, the Philippine Cup in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) belonged to the San Miguel Beermen due to the fact that many have been hailing them as the most talented all-Filipino crew in the history of the league. June Mar Fajardo has been winning awards after awards with six PBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) plums and eight Best Player Conference (BPC) awards just to name a few.

Heading into what could become the PBA bubble in Clark, June Mar Fajardo won't be joining the Beermen as he is still on the recovery road from the injury he sustained back in January. And with the country and the rest of the world still living during the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the potential PBA bubble could level the competition among PBA teams just like the National Basketball Association (NBA) bubble in Orlando which saw crazy outcomes that included top contenders struggling and getting from the playoffs. As San Miguel Coach Leo Austria said, "What happened during this pandemic is that it equalized things" The eight-time PBA champion coach added, "Each team has a chance considering we resumed preparations at the same time, we will enter the bubble together, and we’ll start scrimmages simultaneously. So nobody has the head start,”   

Since sports went on a hiatus due to the pandemic last March, no team has been able to hold team practices. Players were forced to do workouts at home with some even meeting difficulties along the way. It's only recently that the government allowed professional sports teams to hold limited practices as long as they adhere to the health and safety protocols set by the concerned government agencies. But perhaps, the biggest reason why this pandemic will be a great equalizer once the PBA bubble gets going is this: Nobody has ever played in this kind of situation. No actual fans. All 12 teams will be converged in one venue. Doubleheaders to be played every day. All of that amidst the pandemic. Plus,  two of the best big men in the PBA won't be in Clark and that means that the race for this year's Philippine Cup championship will be an open race. 

As they say in the NBA, "It's a whole new game"

Photo: ESPN