The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) suspended its 2020-2021 season due to the physical contact restrictions caused by COVID-19 and the shutdown of its television partner, ABS-CBN.
MPBL commissioner Kenneth Duremdes communicated the season cancellation to all 31 teams in a memo sent Monday.
“To make matters worse, ABS CBN Sports and Action was shut down and contact sports are still not allowed despite the country’s transition to GCQ,” said Duremdes. “The 2020-2021 MPBL Season is hereby suspended and we will start the next season in June 12, 2021.”
However, the 2019-2020 Lakan Season will be completed as soon as the government allows contact sports, Duremdes clarified. As of now, the government only allows non-contact sports such as golf, tennis, and swimming as part of people’s exercise.
Duremdes added the remaining games would be played in a venue but with no audience. Players and officials would also be quarantined in one facility during the game series.
The MPBL commissioner also advised the teams with ongoing contracts to players to give 20 percent of the salary during the period of the canceled season.
The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a regional men’s semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines.
Manny Pacquiao launched the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on August 29, 2017. According to Pacquiao, the league is not intended to be a competitor to the Philippine Basketball Association, the country’s top professional basketball league. The MPBL will feature both a regional commercial and barangay-level league with teams on the business side to have a home locality in addition to a corporate sponsor.
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ABS-CBN Sports and ABS-CBN Regional Network Group is the official broadcaster of the league and airs games of the MPBL through S+A Channel 23 and S+A HD Channel 166 also on Liga Channel 86 and Liga HD Channel 183.
For season 2018-2019, the MPBL gave a five-kilogram, 18-Karat gold trophy that’s worth a whopping ten million pesos to the National Champion.
In 2019, Senator Manny Pacquiao filed game-fixing complaints against the entire SOCCSKSARGEN Marlins.
Pacquiao filed a violation of Presidential Decree No. 483 case against 21 people, including 11 players from the Soccksargen, three Chinese nationals, team managers of two MPBL teams, and the team’s head coach.