CLARK FREEPORT – The PBA confirmed the first probable case of a player inside the bubble on Sunday, leading to the suspension of the scheduled first game between Rain or Shine and Blackwater in Sunday’s Philippine Cup.
The league disclosed the player is from Blackwater, who has since been extracted out of the bubble and brought at the New Clark City quarantine facility.
He's been asymptomatic, though.
Meanwhile, the entire Elite team has already been isolated as per PBA health protocols.
The Elite were supposed to play the Elasto Painters at 4 p.m. at the Angeles University Foundation gym, but the second game pitting Barangay Ginebra against Magnolia game at 6:45 p.m. will proceed as scheduled.
"Yung ating PBA player na lumabas na positive ang result ay nalipat na rin sa New Clark City Athletes Village dahil kailangan nga tayong mag-sigurado," said Vince Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the government's COVID-19 response and president and CEO of Bases and Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), in a press briefing held Sunday.
"We're also asking the PBA to isolate the Blackwater team even though isa lang ang lumabas na positive, and kung may game (sila) huwag na munang ituloy," he added."Na-identify na rin ang kanyang mga close contact at yung mga close contact na yun ay na-isolate na rin."
League leader TnT Tropang Giga was among the close contact of Blackwater as the two teams played last Thursday, which the former won, 109-96.
Like the Elite, the Tropang Giga have also been isolated and will be swab tested again.
The game was held hours after Blackwater and Alaska were swab tested after being the last two teams to have contacted with game officials, one of whom was considered a probable case and likewise brought at the NCC quarantine facility.
The referee had since been negative in both the antigen and swab testing procedures done on him at the facility, although he will remain quarantined at NCC until he finished the new 10-day quarantine guideline approved by the Department of Health (DoH).
Dizon was joined by league commissioner Willie Marcial, deputy commissioner Eric Castro, BCDA Vice President Arrey Perez, and PBA medical committee head Dr. George Canlas.
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