By Kevin Estrada
The ASEAN Basketball League announced on Friday the indefinite suspension of the tenth season, citing the declaration of the coronavirus as a global pandemic.
In a statement by league COO Jericho Ilagan, the suspension has its unanimous support from all of its member teams, and it came nearly 20 hours after four of which, including San Miguel Alab Pilipinas have requested the league to temporarily halt play.
“With the safety of our teams and fans in mind, the league has followed every protocol, obeyed travel restrictions, and erred on the side of caution at every step to protect everyone involved,” said Ilagan.
“This unprecedented situation demanded due diligence from the ABL’s part to ensure that the voice of all stakeholders will be heard and their needs met,” he added
Prior to the request of the four teams, the league had already postponed more than 50 games, in which only one game have been played since February 23, where the KL Dragons edged their causeway rivals in their fourth and final meeting with the Singapore Slingers last March 6.
“We thank all the teams for their patience and their willingness to exhaust all means to push through. The ABL will be closely monitoring the situation in the region as it plots a path to move forward.”
Follow the writer on Twitter: @kevinlestrada
