GCQ fans hope of top leagues’ bosses

Loosened health restrictions in Metro Manila has fired up the optimism of officials of two major sports leagues.

“We hope that this is a sign of things to come,” PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) commissioner Willie Marcial said on Tuesday, hopeful that with the city reverted back to general community quarantine (GCQ), professionals can resume training and kick-start the league’s planned resumption of its shuttered 45th season.

The same feeling was shared by Philippines Football League (PFL) commissioner Coco Torre, whose team is already preparing the Philippine Football Federation National Training Center for the resumption of workouts of PFL clubs.

With two clubs in its roster—United City FC and Kaya-Iloilo—also preparing for the return of the AFC Cup next month in Vietnam and Malaysia, Torre said the restart can’t come soon enough.

“We’re ready to go,” Torre said, stressing that the six clubs expected to see action in the PFL are required to undergo testing before they are allowed to train.

PBA teams are allowed to have a maximum of four players to practice, while PFL clubs can have as many as 10 players training at the same time.

The PBA is aiming to restart in the middle of October, although that will depend on the success of the measures put in place during the practice period.

Marcial is targeting a return to training on Tuesday or as soon as players and staff are cleared following their swab tests scheduled on Thursday and Friday.

“Everyone is excited to practice,” Marcial said, noting that those who return positive COVID tests will not be allowed to train and instead will undergo quarantine.

By the last week of September, Marcial hopes teams are already doing scrimmages in anticipation to the eventual restart of the all-Filipino tournament.

“We’ll take it one day at a time and hopefully by September, things get better and the league can already decide [to push through with the season or not],” Marcial said.

Torre said the PFL will give clubs two weeks of practice before seeking an endorsement from the Games and Amusements Board to start a shortened league competition.