Copa Paulino Alcantara football tournament (Photo courtesy of PFL Facebook)
MANILA – As most parts of the Philippines are now experiencing the "new normal" under Alert Level 1, more professional sports events have begun in recent days.
The Games and Amusements Board (GAB), the government agency overseeing professional sports, is happy that more events are back in the limelight under loosened restrictions.
“We are glad that professional sports is starting to normalize again in the country. Though, of course, our priority remains to be the safety of our athletes, teams, and game officials against the virus,” GAB Chair Baham Mitra said in a statement on Friday.
March has become a peak month in professional sports, with the National Basketball League kicking off its 2022 season on March 6.
The Philippines Football League followed suit on March 14 with the Copa Paulino Alcantara, traditionally a postseason event but was moved into the preseason this year.
On Wednesday, the Premier Volleyball League began its season at Paco Arena in Manila.
On Friday, the Filipino Basketball League (FilBasket) started in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, and the Pilipinas Super League VisMin Super Cup will tip off at Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City on Saturday.
Among the participating teams in the FilBasket is Tanduay, a former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) member.
“The challenge is to bring back its winning mentality. Hopefully, we can bring back the championship legacy that the Rum Masters are known for,” coach Coach Cholo Villanueva, himself a former pro, said in a news release on Friday.
The Rum Masters are Levi Hernandez, Cedrick Ablaza, Mark Cruz, Dawn Ochea, Johnrey Villanueva, Jeckster Apinan, Wilson Baltazar, Ralf Olivares, Rudy Lingganay, Joshua Gonzales, Darwin Lumor, Mark Justine Dela Virgen, Jaycee Asuncion, Jay Manlangit, and Vincent King Importante.
On March 22, the Universal Reality Combat Championship, the Philippines' premier mixed martial arts promotion, will make its way back with an event in Olongapo.
Boxing events have also been set in Cebu on Saturday, in Misamis Oriental on Sunday, and in Laguna on April 9.
The PBA Governors’ Cup is currently in its quarterfinal phase.
“We’re just as excited as everyone else because it’s been a while since we’ve had this many sports events happening at the same time in different parts of the country,” Mitra added. (PNA)
