By Adrian Stewart Co

After teams were given a green light to hold scrimmages, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has set a target date of June 15 for its opening of the 2021 Philippine Cup.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings governor Alfrancis Chua said the opening date is doable once all PBA teams follow the health and safety protocols that will be implemented in their practices.

“Bawat teams sa PBA, alam nila kung gaano kahirap kung paano kami nabuksan para maumpisahan ‘yung practice na 5-on-5. Hindi naman namin gusto na ensayo lang,” Chua said in an interview with ONE PH’s The Chasedown on Saturday.

“Kung ensayo lang gusto namin, okay lang practice kami ng practice. Siyempre gusto namin makapaglaro. We have to prove to them na nag-eensayo kami, walang nahawa, wala lahat, para mapayagan na tayo,” he added.

Chua further said that, with the June opening, the league will be allowed to play the season under a two-conference format and outside the bubble set-up, which was costly to PBA financially last year.

“Hindi IATF o sila Sen. Bong (Go) o si Executive Secretary (Salvador Medialdea). Nasa sa amin ‘yun. We have to prove to them na kaya namin ‘yung protocols, na maingat na maingat kami para kami makapaglaro,” Chua said.

“Binigyan ako ng susi. Kung paano namin pagagandahin ‘yung susi, paano namin lalagyan ng bulaklak o pagagandahin ‘yung susi, nasa sa amin na ‘yun,” he added. “‘Wag sila maging kampante. Dapat lalo kaming maging strict.”

“If we want to stay and play the game, kailangan talaga sundin natin ‘yung tama. Ituring nila ang liga na ‘to na pamilya nila. Ituring nila na tayo nabigyan ng tsansa, wag na natin pakawalan,” he further said./ASC, WDJ