PBA teams can start scrimmages should they find a city or province under MGCQ (Modified General Community Quarantine) willing to host them.
Commissioner Willie Marcial believes the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) will allow PBA teams to train in areas or regions under the lowest level of quarantine since contact sports and other events are allowed under such a scenario.
Teams can train under a bubble setup similar to what the Gilas Pilipinas cadets pool did at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna before the province was put in a strict lockdown just like the rest of the National Capital Region (NCR), Bulacan, Rizal, and Cavite last March 29.
Likewise, the national archery team and its fencing counterparts put up similar bubble training camps in Dumaguete and Ormoc, respectively, as they prepare for the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games and the qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics.
Last year, Clark in Pampanga served as bubble venue for the league to restart the 2020 Philippine Cup.
“Yun siguro papayagan naman nila yung MGCQ,” said Marcial.
“As of now, okay yan,” added the commissioner. “Pero kailangan mag-konsulta tayo sa (board of) governors.”
The governors' approval is crucial to the plan since the start of scrimmages will mean the return to the old salaries of players, coaches, and staff.
Just last Monday, the board decided to cut by 20 percent the salaries of all team personnel while no scrimmages are being held.
“So kailangan sabihin natin 'yan sa board kasi magsisimula na yung kanilang scrimmages, babalik na yung normal nilang suweldo kung magpa-practice sila sa MGCQ areas like Visayas or Mindanao,” said Marcial.
Marcial, however, maintained that practices in MGCQ areas will be purely voluntary.
“Kailangan i-discuss sa governors kung paano kasi yung iba cut ng 20 percent, yung iba buo na. Kaya kailangan pag-usapan yun. I-discuss kung ano ang maganda,” Marcial added.
A year ago, teams said two weeks of scrimmages to restart the season wasn’t enough for their players to be in game-shape condition when the Philippine Cup finally kicked off at the Clark bubble.
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