PBA Bubble: It's Exciting for Players, Fans

On Sunday, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will make its long-awaited restart inside a bubble in Clark, and in the words of Jinno Rufino, "I think the players can't wait for this (the PBA to resume)"

Tuesday's latest episode of Jump Thru Hoops discussed the upcoming restart of the PBA's all-Filipino conference that has been put on pause for more than half a year due to the still ongoing 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). While Rufino noted that "There are players though who are little cautious" due to the challenges that they will be facing inside the bubble, both Rufino and Aaron Atayde agreed on one thing: the PBA bubble is exciting not just for the players but for the fans. 

For the players, Rufino explained, "Every player that I've spoken to that is from another team (other than the San Miguel Beermen) has said 'Hey! It's a wide-open (race). We can do this'. There's no Kraken (June Mar Fajardo) and it could be anyone's conference. That's the mindset that they have and that adds to their eagerness to get things going because they do believe that they have a legitimate chance of winning the conference,"  As for the excitement of the fans, Rufino continued, "The fans are extremely excited because we've seen so many things happened in 2020 and the restart of the PBA season is, at the very, very least, (gives fans) a sense of normalcy for everybody," He also added, "When we see the PBA back in action, it will give that sense that 'Hey, things are going to be okay'"

Talking about the possible climax of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals which will play Game Four on Wednesday, Aaron Atayde pointed "The timing (of the PBA restart) is perfect for the fans because they have been salivating basketball courtesy of the NBA and it sets up beautifully that if this series comes to an end by Monday at the latest, the PBA comes in with daily basketball and that will be amazing for a lot of fans," Atayde later added, "This is something great for a lot of basketball fans out there because one, you get it on a daily basis. Two, it's a bubble and things are completely different and three, June Mar Fajardo is not there. Everyone thinks that they can win it,"

Indeed, it's going to be an exciting time for basketball fans next week. 

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