MANILA, Philippines -- The PBA Press Corps has decided to postpone its staging of its 2019 Awards Night after President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a "community quarantine" in the entire Metro Manila area to arrest the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The affair was set for March 16 at the Novotel Manila in Araneta City, or a day after the full implementation of the safety measures that the President announced on Thursday night.

The decision to reschedule the event is to ensure the health and safety of the awardees, guests, friends, and members of the working press.

The highlight of the event, now in its 26th year, would have been the naming of the winner of the Virgilio "Baby" Dalupan Coach of the Year award that is being disputed by San Miguel's Leo Austria and Barangay Ginebra's Tim Cone.

The PBA Press Corps earlier announced the first batch of awardees, led by six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo (Order of Merit) and CJ Perez (Scoring Champion).

• READ: PBA chose to postpone over holding closed-door games amid n-CoV threat

The PBA Press Corps extends its gratitude to the management of Novotel Manila Araneta City for giving the group utmost flexibility, following its move to call off the awards night on short notice.

Michee Crudo, the sales director of Novotel, stressed that the health and safety of its clientele and the general public is above anything else.

The PBA Press Corps assured Novotel that it will hold the event when the situation normalizes, as per the parameters set by the government through the Department of Health.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website).