PBA team practices to face delay as IATF yet to release guidelines

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Although the PBA is already ready, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases is yet to release the training guidelines forcing the resumption of the league’s team practices to be delayed.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said that the proposed schedule for the resume of practices will be moved another week as they still wait for the final health guidelines to be issued by the IATF.

The IATF is set to release Resolution 51, a joint administrative order (JAO) by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), Department of Health (DOH), and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) which states all the needed safety protocols for the return of practices in professional basketball and football.

“I had a talk with Games and Amusements Board chairman Baham Mitra Thursday. He expects to get the administrative order this week. There’s a little delay but we’re positive we’ll go on with the training return,” Marcial said.

However, the team’s practices would no longer be the usual, players will be using team facilities by batches of six with four are players, one health officer, and one representative from the team.

Before anything else, the players and part of the team’s personnel will still have to finish the three swab tests and will be allowed to join the training if tested negative for all three.