PBA, PFL, Chooks 3x3 practice return stalled as Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna set to return to MECQ

Pro teams may need to wait a little longer before they can practice again. Dennis Acosta (file photo)
By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—PBA and PFL teams may have to wait for a little while again before they can return to practice as Metro Manila and Cavite are set to be reverted to modified enhanced community quarantine by Tuesday.

In a public address on Sunday night, President Rodrigo Duterte responded to the call of health workers who are treating COVID-19 patients for a two-week "timeout" by placing the two provinces as well as Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan back to MECQ until Aug. 18.

PBA and PFL squads are looking to resume their training anytime soon following the formal release of the joint administrative order between the Games and Amusements Board, Philippine Sports Commission, and the Department of Health regarding sports practices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PBA has yet to decide if it will push through with the resumption of its postponed season and how it will look like should the league board decides in favor of it.

The PFL, on the other hand, has already set a bubble for its upcoming season at the PFF National Training Centre in Carmona.

Chooks-To-Go Pilipinas 3x3 teams are in a way affected too as their scheduled return to practice, assuming the league eyes a mid-September start, will coincide with the final days of the MECQ period considering that Laguna is also under the said quarantine, which could mean the league may need to move its season start a little later.

Like the PFL, the Chooks 3x3 league is looking to play its season in a bubble too with the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba as its venue.

In line with this, GAB chairman Baham Mitra said on Monday that his agency will use the MECQ return to build up its stakeholders on the practice return.

"Rest assured that the GAB will take advantage of this temporary halt to prepare our stakeholders in order to ensure the safe return of activities related to professional sports," he stated.

Fitness enthusiasts are only limited to light individual activities like running and biking during MECQ.

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