Subic sets ‘bubble’ for FilBasket inaugural tourney

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will also require a sports bubble set-up for the Filipino Basketball League (Filbasket), an upcoming amateur basketball confederation, which is awaiting approval for its inaugural play-off here.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the “bubble’ concept, which isolates players and organizers from the public, will be implemented for the tournament because it is a proven safety measure for various events here in Subic.

“The sports bubble has worked here in Subic and with this we have successfully hosted the 2021 Gatorade-PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup last February and the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) playoffs last March,” Eisma explained.

“With the continuing risks from Covid-19, we need to ensure the health and safety of the participants, organizers, and even the locals who would interact with the visitors, that’s why we always insist on a bubble,” she added.

Eisma issued the statement after FilBasket League commissioner Jai Reyes confirmed that the inaugural tournament will be held in the Subic Bay Freeport and not in Batangas, which is still under general community quarantine (GCQ).

Subic is under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

According to Reyes, league organizers are just waiting for the go-signal from the SBMA and the Regional Interagency Task Force (RIATF) to hold the event.  

Eisma said that the safety protocols under the FilBasket bubble will be the same as that of the previous sporting events held here: players and organizers, as well as the league’s dedicated media team, will be isolated in hotels, with access only to the tournament venue, and all had to undergo a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test upon arrival.

“There will be no live audience watching the games, as the tournament will be broadcast by television,” she added.

FilBasket, which was founded by two-time UAAP champion Jai Reyes of Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards (MPBL), will have 11 amateur teams competing in the inaugural tournament.

The teams will play for a single round-robin elimination match-up from which the top four teams will qualify for the semifinals round. The winners in the semis will square off for the championship. (MPD-SBMA)

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Eisma: MPBL hosting boosts Subic’s ‘safe haven’ claim

The successful conclusion of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) championship games here at the Subic Gym on Sunday has further cemented Subic’s claim to fame as a safe destination for sports events under the “bubble” concept.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the MPBL finals is the latest crowning glory in Subic’s bid to be an exclusive safe haven amid the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.

“We’re proud to say that the bubble held until the last game of the MPBL finals. And that’s because we are firm here in Subic in observing health protocols laid down by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases),” Eisma said.

“The Freeport community has taken painstaking effort to keep Subic safe, knowing it’s necessary for the nation’s economic rebound, and this determination is now paying off for everyone,” she added.

Prior to this, Subic also hosted the 2021 Gatorade-PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup organized by Philippine Super Liga (PSL) under a similar sports bubble that required participants to be housed in dedicated accommodation facilities and monitored by health personnel.

Under the sports bubble, spectators were not allowed in the playing area, and players and technical crew were prohibited from interacting with the public. The games were livestreamed over online video platforms.

MPBL Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes said the bubble championship games in Subic ended without any hitch, despite initial problems when some players of the Basilan team tested positive before the semifinals. The whole team was not allowed to enter the Subic bubble.

But Duremdes pointed out that “no one was tested positive inside the bubble.”

The championship games ended on March 21 with Davao Occidental Tigers-Cocolife winning the 2019-2020 MPBL Lakan Cup by defeating defending champions San Juan Knights-Go For Gold 89-88 in an overtime.

With the 2019-2020 MPBL championship ended, Eisma said Subic looks forward to its return for the league’s regular season subject to the approval of the IATF. She added the SBMA is also negotiating with the Philippine National Volleyball Federation for a similar bubble tournament here.

Apart from sports events, Subic’s reputation as a safe haven has made it an international crew-change hub for mariners, and a center for corporate jet maintenance in Southeast Asia.

Eisma said the SBMA will further leverage Subic’s safe environment as today’s must-go destination for sports, pageants, conferences and other events under the bubble concept. (30)

PHOTOS:

[1] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma joins MPBL Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes (right) and other sports officials in presenting the 2019-2020 MPBL Lakan Cup at the Subic Gym on March 21.

[2] Members of the Davao Occidental Tigers-Cocolife team celebrate after winning the 2019-2020 MPBL Lakan Cup at the Subic Gym on March 21.

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Subic Freeport hosts ‘bubble’ MPBL championship

Just two weeks after successfully hosting the first beach volleyball battle in the country under a sports bubble set-up, this premier free port is now the venue for the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) playoffs that was stalled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The matches, which will decide the champion in the MPBL Chooks-to-Go Lakan Cup, started today (March 10) at the Subic Gym here with Makati Super Crunch fighting it out with defending champion San Juan Knights for the North division title.

Next week, Basilan Steel and Davao Occidental Tigers will collide for the South division crown, before the national finals start on March 18.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, who welcomed the participants at the Subic Gym, said the MPBL playoffs will further cement Subic’s claim to fame as the nation’s sports bubble capital.

“Subic Bay is out to prove that sports activities, which are essential for our physical and mental health, can still be done despite the limitations of Covid-19,” Eisma said.

“However, let us not forget that we are here because we were able to keep the Subic Bay Freeport safe. And this is not the time to rest,” she added, calling on participants to observe health protocols while in Subic.

Under the sports bubble concept, all the participants—the players, organizers, and technical crew—will have to pass an RT-PCR test, and will be allowed access only to the sports venue and their designated hotels.

Health protocols also forbid the participants from having any interaction with the public, as well as spectators from watching the games inside the venue.

The playoffs will be shown on Channel A2Z.

The MPBL games in Subic took off from the March 11, 2020 games when both the North and South divisions in the league were tied at 1-1.

Organizers said the games did not progress to the championship level since then after the Covid-19 pandemic forced a Luzon-wide lockdown on March 17, 2020.

On the other hand, it took a long time for Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to allow the games to resume because the MPBL, which was founded by Senator Manny Pacquiao, has an amateur status, organizers also said.

The Subic playoffs will determine the winners in the North and South divisions who will then battle in a best-of-five national finals for the MPBL Lakan Cup this season. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic Freeport to host first ‘bubble’ volleyball playoffs

The country’s first-ever volleyball tournament to be held under the Covid-19 pandemic will happen right here at the sand courts of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) on Feb. 26-28.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the 2021 Gatorade-PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup organized by Philippine Super Liga (PSL) will be held under a “sports bubble” concept approved under strict guidelines by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

The IATF through Resolution No. 79 issued on Oct. 15, 2020 allowed the PSL volleyball tourney subject to strict observance of, among others, health and safety protocols finalized with the SBMA, the local Regional Task Force Covid-19, and the local Department of Health Center for Health Development.

“Because of this, there will be no spectators to be allowed at the tournament area, and only players and organizers and technical crew will be out there. But the games will be livestreamed on television and online channels,” Eisma said.

“It’s the second-best thing next to a playoff with live audience, and I believe the excitement and intensity of the games won’t be diminished a bit by the restriction,” she added.

Eisma added that under the sports bubble concept, all participants in the tournament, as well as the organizers and technical crew, will be housed in dedicated accommodation facilities and monitored by health and safety personnel. They will have no interaction with the public, she added.

The PSL said a total of eight teams will see action this season at the SBMA sand courts, which served as venue for an exciting beach volleyball meet during the 30th Southeast Asian Games in December 2019.

These are Sta. Lucia, which is billed as the team to beat with veteran beach volley campaigners Bang Pineda and Jonah Sabete, as well as DM Demontano and Jackie Estoquia; guest team Kennedy Solar Energy-PetroGazz, with the tandem of Ariane Luna Alarcon and Christina Canares; and F2 Logistics, with Jenny Mar Senares, Kyla Angela Gallego.

Meanwhile, Chery Tiggo, which will don the colors of United Auctioneers Inc., will join the fray with Ella Viray and Theresa Ramas; Abanse Negrense 1 with Alexa Polidario and Erjan Magdato; Abanse Negrense 2 with Jennifer Cosas and Gelimae Villanueva; and Toby’s Sports with Jonah San Pedro and Javen Sabas.

The tourney sponsored by Cherrylume, Ube Express and Subic Bay Peninsular Hotel, also has Cocolife, UCPB Gen, Data Project and Genius Sports as technical partners.

PSL chairman Philip Ella Juico said this historic tourney will not be possible without the support of the participating teams, as well as IATF, which approved the bubble setup in Subic.

“By becoming the first volleyball league to restart its season in the coronavirus era, we have a very big responsibility to our players, coaches, team owners, the media, and other stakeholders. But rest assured that we will do everything to observe all the necessary health and safety protocols in accordance with the policies of the IATF, the SBMA, and the Department of Health,” Juico added.

Eisma said the PSL volleyball tournament will just be the first in a series of tourism-related events being prepared for implementation in Subic under the bubble setup.

“We are also eyeing basketball events, beauty pageants, and conferences, which would be possible here because of facilities that allow social distancing, the availability of quarantine hotels where event participants can be housed in isolation, and strict adherence by stakeholders to health and safety protocols,” she added.

The Subic Bay Freeport also serves as a crew change hub for international commercial vessels and hosts a corporate jet maintenance bubble at the Subic Bay International Airport. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

SBMA Tourism Department personnel prepare the SBMA sand courts on Tuesday for the start of PSL’s 2021 Gatorade-Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup this Friday. 

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