COVID-19 also halts MPBL Division Finals

Fans of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League will have to wait a little longer before the cast for the Lakan Season national finals has been set, after it was suspended indefinitely due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with the respective do-or-die tiffs in the Division Finals were supposed to be played tonight.

League commissioner Kenneth Duremdes announced the halt to play on Thursday evening, in the anticipation of a controlled quarantine in the National Capital Region in which it has both teams in the North side.

"Though we would have wanted to hold the deciding Game Threes on Saturday, March 14, we cannot take for granted the danger COVID-19 poses to the spectators, players, team members, and MPBL staff," Duremdes' statement read.
"Just like other sports organizations and events, the league's primary concern is the health and safety of the public."

Both the title series in the North and the South have come to the full three games, in which both San Juan and Davao Occidental hold home advantage for their winner-take-all games after contrasting results last March 11.

In a closed-door affair, Makati pushed their series with the Knights with a 91-88 shocker despite giving up the home advantage, while Davao silenced the jampacked crowd in Lamitan with an 81-76 thriller over Basilan.

It was also noted that the opener of the South Division Finals was moved from Davao City to Tagum, Davao Del Norte as Mayor Sara Duterte imposed a lockdown to the country's largest city, prohibiting mass gatherings such as sporting events as a preventive measure.

And also in the opener of the North series, the tip off was pushed back two hours for undisclosed reasons.

Photo by MPBL