GAB sanctions Blackwater for training violation

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) is planning to issue out sanctions to the PBA team Blackwater Elite for conducting training sessions ahead of the proposed schedule by the league.

Abraham Mitra, GAB’s chairman, explained that despite Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases’ approval of basketball and football practices to resume, GAB is yet to release Resolution 51 which states the guidelines to be followed during the team training.

Also, the PBA’s plan for return to practice is either July 20 or 22 in line with the league’s hopes of a season come back.

“The JAO (Joint Administrative Order) of GAB, PSC (Philippine Sports Commission), DOH (Department of Health) plus the IATF has not yet come out with the resolution and they violated the restrictions. They will be dealt with separately by the PBA and GAB. Possible fines and suspensions will be issued,” Mitra said.

According to Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy, the training they are conducting is under the PBA’s protocols of batch training per sets of 4 or 6 on the court including one coach or trainer and one safety officer.

However, Mitra said that they still violated strict guidelines and added that “they violated the Omnibus guidelines of the IATF on safety protocols.”