MANILA, Philippines -- Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone called it "an experience that will stay with me throughout my whole life."
The shutdown of the NBA was a massive jolt to sports fans, and underscored the severity of the situation. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert returned a positive COVID-19 test on March 11; hours later, commissioner Adam Silver put the entire season on hold. Later that month, in an unprecedented decision, the Tokyo Olympics was postponed to 2021.
In the Philippines, the return of sports was slower even if a blueprint was already in place. Only in late July did the Games and Amusements Board, the Department of Health, and the Philippine Sports Commission sign the joint administrative order that would determine the conduct of sports during the pandemic. What was immediately made clear in the tripartite agreement that only professional sports can be held.
By the time Troy Rike and his teammates entered the Chooks 3x3 bubble, the NBA season and the PBA All-Filipino Cup were already under way, so they had some ideas of what to expect from a bubble set-up. Rike, who played for Zamboanga City Chooks, knew to manage his expectations. "It was clear it was first class," Rike said of the facility. "I was like, 'Wow, Inspire is really nice. I've never seen anything like this in the Philippines.'"
"That's the thing -- I never got to be with my family or like, relax, eat what food I want, all that kind of stuff. So it was just, constant focusing on basketball." "Maybe, the first tournament was a little easier because we were so excited to play. But I think, even after the first one, especially with how 3x3 is, your body starts hurting," he said. "I was like, man, man, I don't want to go and get treatment, I don't want to do this. So I felt that the whole time, honestly, but it just got progressively tougher as the days went on.
"I don't know if I can go back in," he said. "That would be really, really tough, if I'm being honest. We'll see what happens, though."The PBA's grand plans for its 46th season -- including a 3x3 competition and an All-Star Weekend -- were scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 11, seven months after league activities were suspended, the season finally resumed in Clark, Pampanga.
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