PBA looks to start team scrimmages by September

FILE — Tune up game between Alaska and NLEX last February. INQUIRER PHOTO/TRISTAN TAMAYO

MANILA, Philippines—PBA is slowly making progress in its bid to resume the 2020-21 season as the league plans to submit a request to the government for full contact scrimmages starting September.

As per PBA.ph, league commissioner Willie Marcial said that he will write to the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases to allow the teams to go back to physical scrimmages next month.

His request, however, will still depend on the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines.

“If the cases increase there’s still the possibility that we will go back a stricter quarantine level,” said Marcial in Filipino. “But if the numbers are steady or better yet it goes down then maybe we’ll get the approval. I really do hope so.”

The National Capital Region is still under general community quarantine and all of the PBA teams’ practice facilities are in Metro Manila.

Under GCQ, the players can now proceed with conditioning and workouts starting Tuesday.

Teams have also sent their players for swab testing and only those who test negative for COVID-19 will be allowed to join non-contact workouts that will be done under strict health protocols laid out in the Joint Administrative Order of the Department of Health, Games and Amusements Board, and Philippine Sports Commission.

“The players are already working out on their own so now we just prolonged their time for their self workouts so that when scrimmages are allowed the risk for injury is lower,” said Marcial.