BY JONAS TERRADO
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is perhaps sharing the sentiment of other PBA teams with training sessions expected to start next week following the lifting of the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine on Metro Manila and surrounding provinces.
PBA teams were forced to wait longer for workouts to start after the government placed Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal and Bulacan under stricter MECQ regulations last Aug. 4 till Aug. 18.
The said areas will revert back to GCQ on Aug. 19 till Aug. 31, thus paving the way for the PBA, Chooks-to-Go 3×3 and Philippines Football League to hold training sessions under strict health measures.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said that teams could practice as early as Aug. 25.
“We just (had a Zoom session) with everyone and they are all excited,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Cone said Ginebra could undergo swab testing which will be done by the facilities of San Miguel Corporation on Wednesday. Sister teams San Miguel Beer and Magnolia will also be tested by SMC.
The other nine teams will be tested at Makati Medical Center on Thursday and Friday. Players must test negative for COVID-19 before they can join team workouts.
Marcial said Monday that a player or coach who tested positive for COVID-19 will be quarantined for 14 days, but that won’t cause a delay in the planned resumption of practices.
“We’re looking at getting tested tomorrow (Wednesday) and then back to work doing workouts whenever the results arrived,” said Cone.
Teams are required to split their workouts into sessions composed of a maximum of five persons and a safety officer each.
The PBA is also mandating all teams to undergo tests every two weeks.
