By JONAS TERRADO
The PBA will require imports to be fully vaccinated before they can suit up for the planned second conference next month.
PBA officials agreed to set this requirement several days ago as the league is now in the process of trying to stage the season-ending conference amid restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
If things push through, the second conference is going to feature imports 6-foot-5 and under similar to the Governors’ Cup which was staged as the third and final tournament of a season during pre-pandemic times.
Plans prior to the start of the season last July was for the second conference to start a few days after the ongoing Philippine Cup.
No imports were fielded last year when the coronavirus forced the PBA to hold the Philippine Cup as the season’s only tournament.
The last import-laced conference was the 2019 Governors’ Cup when Justin Brownlee led Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to the title.
That tournament also saw a slew of talented foreign players, including Meralco’s Allen Durham who was named Best Import and former NBA players KJ McDaniels for TNT and Manny Harris for NLEX.
