“We really followed the IATF guidelines, and I think FIBA has its own. I think it’s being married with FIBA and IATF, so I’m sure it’s gonna be a very safe venue, and that is paramount for all the games that we are in very safe conditions.”

The PBA Bubble in Clark is no exemption in the pandemic scare as they faced the threat of the virus while in the midst of the tilt that pushed the league to shelved the season for days, however, PBA managed to buck such a tough situation and went on to conclude the season without any bumps on their road.

Dizon is confident that the organizers will still implement the exact strict protocols they imposed that ensured the integrity of the first-ever bubble tournament in Philippine professional sports.

“In the middle of the bubble, the IATF instituted stricter protocols over and above the existing protocols that were initially approved, and I think that resulted in a stricter system in ensuring that we will not have the same problems.

“As a result, after those two instances, tuluy-tuloy nang walang naging problema, until the end of the PBA bubble in the early part of December. We will continue with those strict protocols,” he said.

Moreover, Dizon guaranteed that there will be an assigned quarantine facility within Clark for the FIBA games if someone tests positive.

“If we recall initially, we used the Athletes’ Village in New Clark City as a facility, but that was, of course, a common facility, because it was also being used by other groups such as the provinces of Pampanga and Tarlac,” he said.

“So we decided in November to have a dedicated facility in Clark, another hotel facility to serve as a quarantine and isolation facility. We will continue with that again for the future bubble in February.”

On the other hand, the world governing body for basketball has granted Indonesia the hosting rights of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup’s August window.

The Final Round of the continental showpiece competition will be held from August 16-28 and will feature the top 16 teams from Asia/Oceania.

“We are very proud to host the FIBA Asia Cup in Jakarta next year,” said Perbasi president Danny Kosasih on securing the opportunity to host the league in 2021.

This is the second time Indonesia will house the league. The 1993 tournament also took place in the Southeast Asian nation.

“It is an excellent platform for Indonesia to display its basketball potential. It will also help us to prepare ourselves for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, both as an organizer and a national team,” said Kosasih.

Indonesia will receive an outright qualification in the Qualifiers where the host country is grouped with Gilas, South Korea, and Thailand in Pool A.

Meanwhile, also punching their tickets to the 16-nation meet are Lebanon and Bahrain from Group D.

“It will be an exciting couple of years for Indonesian basketball. Hosting the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 and co-hosting the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 is a massive step forward towards developing basketball in the country,” said FIBA Asia President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani.