THE newly formed regional league VisMin Super Cup may now proceed with its preparations for its Mindanao leg after the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) on Monday evening gave its go-ahead.
Following an online meeting, the professional sports regulatory said the league can stage its Mindanao leg but subject to the submission of pertinent requirements and strict adherence to existing policies.
“The approval for the holding of Mindanao Leg, which will strictly adhere to the “No License, No Play” policy, is conditional. It is subject not only to the submission of the regulatory requirements, such as health screening, drug testing and related documents, but also the continuing adherence to protocols and closer and stricter supervision of the games,” said GAB Chairman Baham Mitra in a statement.
The VisMin Super Cup Mindanao leg, which is backed by Chooks-to-Go, is targeted to begin on May 30 with the host venue to be announced in the coming days.
Earlier, the holding of the Mindanao tournament of the league was put on review after the Visayas leg, which was held in a “bubble” in Cebu, was marred by a game-fixing controversy early on, which led to the permanent ban of one team and several players and team officials heavily fined and given sanctions.
The GAB sought the suspension of the proceedings in the leg to conduct an investigation in cooperation with the league while also putting a stop to future plans of the VisMin Super Cup, including the Mindanao leg, pending resolution of the controversy.
Eventually the matters were resolved, allowing the Visayas leg to continue under strict monitoring of GAB and league officials, with KCS Computer Specialist-Mandaue City ending up as the inaugural champion in the Visayas.
In coming up with the decision to allow the preparation for the Mindanao leg of the VisMin Super Cup to resume, GAB took note of the league’s initiatives to swiftly address the issue and to enforce stricter rules.
“We are grateful to the league’s officials for their sincerity to undertake the needed reforms for the protection and welfare of professional basketball, the players, and the public,” said Mr. Mitra. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo