PBA eyes scrimmage practices on Sept. 16

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Despite the extension of the general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila, the biggest basketball league in the country is entering the remaining months with hopes that they can somehow upgrade from individual conditioning training to practice scrimmages.

With the PBA most likely to emulate the NBA bubble, commissioner Willie Marcial and the rest of the board are aiming to propose to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases the resumption of 5-on-5 play.

“We’ll write the IATF a letter, and we hope that we’ll be granted permission to shift our training to a higher level this September,” said commissioner Marcial.

Since IATF gave the PBA the green light to resume practice, only a maximum of six members every batch is allowed with contact among them still prohibited.

To strengthen their bid of a scrimmage allowance, commissioner Marcial bared that they will also write letters to the Department of Health (DOH), the Games and Amusement Board (GAB), and the Philippines Sports Commission (PSC).

However, the scenario would still depend on how the country will sustain its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.