PBA postpones games starting October 30 upon IATF recommendation

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will postpone the games in its Pampanga bubble starting Friday, Oct. 30, upon the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF) and the Department of Health (DOH).

“In compliance with the recommendation of the IATF-EID Technical Working Group and the DOH Advisory Group of Experts and to ensure the integrity and safety of the PBA Bubble, the league is postponing the games starting TODAY, October 30 until the new protocols proposed by the IATF and DOH are out in place,” the PBA said in a statement.

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...the league is postponing the games starting TODAY, October 30 until the new protocols proposed by the IATF and DOH are out in place.

— PBA (@pbaconnect) October 30, 2020

On Oct. 21, the league reported that one of its referees tested positive for COVID-19. Four days later, the PBA also reported a positive case of a Blackwater player.

However, the league later said both cases turned out to be negative after undergoing antigen and RT-PCR swab tests.

The Department of Health said last Monday that it was too early to conclude if the two cases in the PBA bubble were “false positive” cases.

Malacañang also said the situation at the PBA bubble is still “manageable” despite the league’s reports of positive cases. 

The games scheduled for today were NorthPort versus Magnolia and San Miguel Beermen against Ginebra.

The PBA also previously postponed supposed games between Blackwater and Rain or Shine, TNT and NorthPort, and Magnolia and Blackwater. – RC, GMA News