By JONAS TERRADO
NLEX and TNT are set to start their own practices in the North while some teams might start theirs in Batangas City this week.
The Road Warriors confirmed that they will begin holding closed-circuit practices in Clark, Pampanga while the Tropang Giga are said to be leaving Wednesday, May 19 for Ilocos Norte.
San Miguel Beer, on the other hand, is likely to begin scrimmages in Batangas City as the PBA is still clarifying on whether practices can be allowed in Metro Manila.
Metro Manila and provinces part of NCR Plus, namely Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan, were downgraded to General Community Quarantine, which allows for full practices following the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force.
But the GCQ version inside NCR Plus is under “heightened restrictions” which impose stricter guidelines like gyms barred from being re-opened.
Some LGUs have thumbed down the request of PBA teams to hold practices in their regular facilities, which is why teams are opting for venues in the provinces.
Coach Yeng Guiao said NLEX could begin Wednesday or Thursday in Clark after initial plans to start at the University of the Philippines campus.
Under the arrangement, the Road Warriors players and coaches will practice the closed-circuit arrangement of home to venue and back but plans to stay in Clark in the final week of the month.
TNT is set to become the second team to go to Laoag, joining Meralco which arrived last Sunday.
The Bolts were the first club cleared by the league to resume practices after completing necessary requirements like the two swab testing procedures.
