GEARS are starting to move for Gilas Pilipinas as it is eyeing to stage a bubble training camp in Calamba, Laguna come November.
Spin.ph sources bared that the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is hoping to secure a green light from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for Emerging Infectious Diseases to allow the men's national basketball team to resume its training in preparation for the November window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.
The setup will be similar to what TNT Tropang Giga did ahead of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, with Inspire Sports Academy inside the National University-Laguna campus in Calamba being eyed to house the national team.
Players, one source said, will be subjected to swab tests this coming week as the federation hopes to get the clearance to practice sooner than later.
Asked about the matter, SBP special assistant to the president Ryan Gregorio politely begged off from confirming any details due to the sensitivity of the situation as they continue to work with the government agencies to finally get the ground running anew for Gilas.
"We have no clearance yet from the government agencies. We don't want to put pressure on any government agency tasked to give us clearance. There are lots of moving parts involved in the process," he said in a text message to Spin.ph.
Gilas, however, is pressed for time especially after Fiba announced the hosts for the planned mini-bubbles for the November window.
Manama, the capital city of Bahrain, was given the reins to host Group A, where the Philippines is competing against Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Gilas has a 1-0 record from its 100-70 vicyory over Indonesia in Jakarta in February, with its other game against Thailand postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Aside from Group A, teams from Group D, namely Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, and India, are also slated to hold games in Manama.
Still, there's no date for the meet, though it only leaves the national team a little less than three weeks to prepare.
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