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| Biñan scrambled to find a venue for Game 4 of the MPBL South Division Finals at the last minute before it was forced to bring it to San Juan's home. LA Arcin |
BIÑAN—In another testament to how hard it is to reserve a certain basketball arena for an MPBL playoff game, Biñan found itself having trouble holding Game 4 of the MPBL South Division Finals at home.
After getting a word from MPBL commissioner Kenneth Duremdes, city mayor Gel Alonte, also the Tatak Gel's team owner, quickly told his staff to reserve Dec. 1 and 3 for their home stand against the Quezon Huskers.
However, as it turned out, according to what a person privy to the situation told Dugout Philippines on Monday night after the curtains were closed for Game 3, someone had already reserved the Alonte Sports Arena for Wednesday night.
With the said arena to be used by another league owned by Manny Pacquiao, the MPVA, on Tuesday—interestingly for a playoff match also between Quezon and Biñan—the club decided to keep the original schedule for Wednesday, a Christmas party by a company headquartered here, as is.
The insider confirmed what another source told Dugout Philippines, that the Tatak Gel pitched to hold Game 4 of the national semifinals on Thursday night instead.
However, the league, with its playoff schedule already fixed, insisted on holding Game 4 on Wednesday night.
The MPBL initially announced on Sunday night that the Wednesday game was set to be played at the Laguna Sports Complex in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, some 55 kilometers away from the Alonte Sports Arena.
However, for reasons still being verified by Dugout Philippines as of posting, the said venue is also unavailable.
With no other arena in Laguna available, Biñan was forced to let go of its hosting rights for Game 4 and have the match on neutral ground instead.
With the Playtime FilOil Centre in San Juan City free on Wednesday, the MPBL, Tatak Gel, and Huskers agreed to hold Game 4 there.
Curiously enough, the San Juan Knights, who call the said arena home, also had their own share of problems hosting MPBL playoff games as they were forced to hold their supposed first two home stands in the postseason at the Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig's home turf.
San Juan finally got to literally host one playoff game, but it turned out to be its last, too, as Pangasinan silenced the Playtime FilOil Centre and won Game 3 of the North Division Semifinals to book a showdown with eventual North champ Abra in the division finals.
As for Biñan, after dropping Game 3 against Quezon at its home floor, it was a double black eye as the team did not just lose a home game; it also lost another.
With only a small fraction of the 7,000-strong home crowd at the Alonte Sports Arena expected to show up at the Playtime FilOil Centre for Game 4, it is going to be tougher for the Tatak Gel to keep what has been an overachieving season for them alive.
