San Juan ready to play as MPBL resumes with Subic bubble

After a year of being locked down and locked out of action, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League is finally set to conclude its Lakan Season with the bubble in Subic Bay to crown the national champions of the third season.

It was a huge relief for league commissioner Kenneth Duremdes that their business end of the playoffs finally gets the green light to continue, after being left off for much of the past year owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The MPBL is ready 100 percent, but again all of this is new for us. Lahat bago sa amin, even for the players,” said Captain Marbel in the PSA Forum Tuesday morning, where they will play for at most seven games behind closed doors.

He added, “We know that we are ready, but we are facing a lot of challenges.”

With four teams seeing their respective division finals going the full route of three games, Wednesday’s doubleheader action are lit from the get go with both Davao Occidental-Basilan in the South and San Juan-Makati in the North were too close to call until the final buzzer.

“Parehong do-or-die ito na division finals. Matalo dito uwi na agad,” he then exhorted, with the combatants leaving it all on the line for the decisive match-ups.

“So imagine yung sacrifices talaga ng mga players and team owners. Biro mo ang dami mong process na dinaanan, pero matalo ka uwi ka na agad.”

For team governor Christopher Conwi, the morale of the team was sky-high with the playing squad still intact for the home stretch.

“Everybody is okay,” he said in a phone call to Pinoyliga the following evening, with the reigning national champions arrived an hour after the Tigers touched down in Zambales Friday last week.

However, they have to downsize their personnel for the bubble to comply with the 22-person limit as a part of the regulations being imposed.

That meant that head coach Randy Alcantara would only have Yong Garcia and Nani Epondulan joining him on the sidelines as Gherome Ejercito staying put.

The long layoff made the team bond together even more off the court, as the commitment to its players never wavered even during the pandemic that took a huge toll on everyone.

“Makikita naming yung closeness ng team owners para maitawid ang team,” he then said, with them rarely meeting them personally with most of their contacts have gone online.

Despite being at the wrong end in game two defeat to the Skyscrapers on March 11, 2020, the Knights will take the experience on playing at an empty arena to full use at last.

“Ready na tayo sa ganoong set up,” he conveyed. “Yung mindset, na-prepare natin sila.”

However, their mental resolve will be put to the test in the bubble, when they can be stay there for as much as 16 days depending on their performance.

“It’s a matter of motivating them, talking to them. We are here for a mission: to defend the crown.”

While Basilan and Makati are facing problems of their own, their title defence had been given a huge boost when reigning playoff MVP Mike Ayonayon re-join the Knights after his rookie season with NLEX in the PBA.

Ayonayon’s Clark experience gives more than just the upsides, as they have seen the whole change in game that he had under the tutelage of Yeng Guiao.

“Ibang iba na siya [Mike] ngayon. Sobrang nag-mature na.”

Everybody in San Juan, including Conwi, knew that the former PCU stalwart has an unfinished business for them, although he could have opted out when he already turned up for the Road Warriors in the Philippine Cup last year.

“One last chance,” he added, hoping that he is closing out his MPBL career with another ring. “It’s exciting for us and MPBL fans na makita for the last time.”

FILE PHOTOS: HAROLD BIADO