COACH Chot Reyes is not about to hastily pack his bags up and bring his team back to Metro Manila from Laoag City.
The outspoken TNT coach yesterday said he still needs to get clarification on what is allowed in the Big City before transferring their practice sessions from the Ilocos Norte capital.
“Hindi pa malinaw ang guidelines so hindi pa kami nagpa-plano kung kailan kami uuwi,” Reyes told Malaya-Business Insight. “Pero pag sinabi nilang puwede na then saka kami lilipat.”
Reyes was reacting to an announcement from the IATF allowing the re-opening of indoor non-contact sports venues inside the so-called NCR Plus bubble.
In its latest resolution last Thursday but publicly released the day after, the IATF said fitness studios, gyms, skating rinks and racket sports courts inside Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan can operate again at 30 percent capacity.
In his monthly press briefing, Games and Amusement Board Chairman Baham Mitra confirmed that pro teams can practice by groups based on the Joint Administrative Order.
There is one thing not clear in that resolution for Reyes, however. “Ano ba iyung 30 percent? Ng gym ba ‘yon, ng court, ng team?” he posed.
“Kailangan munang malinawan iyon bago kami mag-plano ulit,” added Reyes. “Ano ibig sabihin ng capacity?”
Pending such clarification, Reyes added the Tropang Giga are prepared to extend their stay in the northern capital, where they have been doing their pre-season training under a bubble setup.
“Ang schedule talaga namin hanggang another week pa kami dito. That’s the original plan,” related Reyes. “Pero that was a schedule that was done before lumabas itong huling balita.”
All 12 PBA teams have been conducting practices outside the NCR Plus area since it was placed in a GCQ with “heightened restrictions” last May 15. Such quarantine status prohibits the opening of indoor sports venues.
Ginebra, San Miguel Beer, Magnolia, Phoenix, Rain or Shine, Alaska, NorthPort, Blackwater and Terrafirma have spent the past weeks training in different cities and municipalities in Batangas while NLEX has held practices in Pampanga and individual outdoor training at UP’s Epsilon Chi Center.
Meralco is also in Laoag, alternating practices with TNT at the Centennial Arena.
Although the restrictions are expected to be eased when the quarantine level is downgraded to GCQ on Wednesday, the matter of whether PBA teams could now conduct full-contact, 5-on-5 scrimmages when they return to their usual practice hubs within the Metro need to be ironed out.
