The Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League wants to finish the abruptly postponed Lakan Cup playoffs, likely behind closed doors, Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes said.
The Lakan Cup was suspended in the middle of the North and South division finals, and Duremdes said the league would first push through with the remaining seven games, then “we go from there.”
In an April 8 memorandum, the commissioner announced that the start of MPBL’s next season, originally slated on June 12, would be moved.
But the league is now mulling the cancellation of the next season, in consideration of the teams’ financial status following the Covid-19 pandemic that has shut down the economy.
“May ilang teams na nagpadala na ng feeler na magte-take ng leave of absence next season. Napaka-importante nating malaman kung kaya pa ba ng team owners magpatakbo ng team, at kapag makita ng league na wala talaga, we might cancel the season,” Duremdes said in an Instagram live broadcast.
The league was also considering formulating a new season format that would limit the number of games in a season, but the final decision would be subject to league founder Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s approval.
“We will limit the games at magkakaroon tayo ng sariling tournament lang ng South at sariling tournament alone ng North division. Hindi na sila magcro-crossover,” Duremdes said. John Ezekiel J. Hirro