THE PBA Governors Cup resumption may not allow fans at the venue again.
Sounding apologetic, commissioner Willie Marcial said the league will have to make do playing again before empty seats once games of the season-ending meet gets going on the first week of February as earlier projected.
"Yung fans hindi na muna. Siguro after a couple of weeks, pag-aralan natin kung talagang puwede na tsaka natin i-accommodate ang mga fans," said Marcial.
"Pero sa simula baka wala muna."
The development came just a month after the league finally allowed live audience in the stands after playing the last two editions of the Philippine Cup without the benefit of the fans.
A crowd of close to 5,000 was on hand at the Smart Araneta Coliseum when the league played on Christmas Day, highlighted by the Barangay Ginebra-Magnolia rivalry in the main game.
But a ray of hope also looms as COVID-19 cases appear to be on the downtrend, especially in the NCR Plus which is down to just 6,280 cases from the period Jan. 19 to 25 from as high as P15,782 the previous week.
"Depende pa rin kasi nakikita naman natin pababa yung mga cases," said Marcial.
The commissioner though, would take things one at a time, stressing the priority at the moment is to have all 12 teams finally start conducting their scrimmages for the impending restart of the conference.
"Scrimmages muna ang inaasikaso natin," he said. "Kung mai-baba pa yan, baka puwede na tayong mag-request na masimulan na ang mga laro." (RG)(PBA)