The biggest benefit of the PBA from the COVID-19 break

When the Enhance Community Quarantine was dropped as one of the measures to battle COVID-19, it is hard to see the Philippine Basketball Association, getting any benefit from it.

It was supposed to end by April 14 but last Tuesday, it was revealed that they are pushing it to April 30.

Now, the PBA commissioner's revealed that they will soon have a meeting as the PBA board, to assess the situation. He told Spin.ph that he plans to give a month for the teams to practice again before re-opening the season.

So, if the ECQ will be lifted by April 30, that means the earliest return could be June. So, it was not shocking when he revealed that he also plans to reduce the season into a two-conference format.

And that will be a big win for the PBA.

I have always been a proponent of returning to the two-conference format. You can read my past posts about it here and here.

The three-conference format had been choking our schedule for a while. It has affected the preparation of our Gilas national team, and I do believe that the majority of us value our national team.

And other than that, the three-conference format has reduced the value of championships, for a while. Going back and maintaining the two-conference format will accumulate benefits in the next few years.

The championships will win more. That means every victory and defeat will become more memorable. Those memories will grow the attachment of the fans to their favorite team and to the league. The biggest rivalry of San Miguel Corporation versus the MVP group will become juicier.

Yes, the biggest benefit that the PBA could get from the COVID-19 break is returning to the two-conference format.