By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After months of torture for basketball enthusiasts in the City of Love, the JB Amateur Basketball League (ABL) has come up with a mapped out plan to finally stage a tournament amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Founder and commissioner Jayphet Balbacal and the rest of the organization bared in an exclusive interview with Daily Guardian that the entire process was indeed long but fortunately, all sacrifices will finally pay off.
After a series of thorough discussions with the Iloilo City Sports Development Division under the helm of Executive Assistant Rudiver Jungco Sr., the proposal of the 3×3 tournament is finally nearing its last stages and will bring back the excitement of the Ilonggo hoopers after months of waiting.
The final letter of approval has already reached Mayor Jerry P. Treñas and his office and the entire league is optimistic given the protocols that commissioner Balbacal laid out for the event to push through.
A tight partnership with the local COVID-19 compliance team and the local Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases has been done, following Balbacal’s proposal of swab-testing for all participating players.
Second, the local IATF’s suggestions will be carefully followed by the organizers and strict health protocols will be observed.
If ever granted permission to launch the grand sports event, Balbacal’s 3×3 basketball tournament will serve as the first approved league to be successfully staged in Iloilo city and the Western Visayas.
“Ang tanan optimistic. We will make this happen as long as we follow all the imposed strict safety protocols suggested to us by the local IATF kag sang aton Iloilo City Government. I decided to propose swab testing and all the necessary steps for the players para lang maging safe kita tanan. I want to make this happen so that we can prove them wrong nga kaya sang local scope to do events such as this. Let’s prove them wrong,” Balbacal said.
The proposed 3×3 tournament will take place on January 31, 2021 at the La Paz gym and aside from the main 3×3 event, the JB ABL organizers are also planning to hold a slam-dunk contest and a three-point shootout.
The sponsors for the league are Uratex Foam, Aquarius Marine Services, Yu Chin Tabuc Suba, Secret Fresh, Jet Sweater Farm, and TUF Barbershop.
10 teams who are currently with the JB ABL Elite Division are all interested to join the league with two other external teams also invited to suit up for January 31.
