ANGELES CITY – Blackwater and Alaska have been scheduled for swab testing on Thursday after the two team’s requests were approved by both the Department of Health (DoH) and Clark Development Corporation (CDC).
The procedure is being done as part of the stricter protocols the PBA will be carrying out after a referee was classified as a ‘probable case’ for COVID-19 on Wednesday morning.
Several players apparently have concerns that they may have been exposed to the asymptomatic referee, who later tested negative in the antigen procedure conducted at the New Clark City (NCC) quarantine facility.
“Sinabi namin sa CDC yan at pinag-usapan with the DoH. Kung dapat i-test, i-test,” said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial in a late press conference after the Barangay Ginebra-Phoenix Philippine Cup match at the Angeles University Foundation gym.
“Kung anong sasabihin sa amin ng CDC, kung kailangan magpa-test, magpa-patest kami.”
All teams had just been tested last week, with all players, coaches, and personnel all coming out negative of the virus.
Marcial said PBA medical committee head Dr. George Canlas talked to representatives of the 12 teams assuring them of all the safety precautions being done by the league to address the health concerns inside the bubble.
Marcial said the referee’s situation could be a ‘false positive’ case as what medical experts referred to.
Nonetheless, the official was swab tested anew with the league hoping for a negative result, while he will stay quarantined at the NCC facility for the next 14 days.
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