PBA, PFL get green light for training as joint order signed

Basketball players and footballers can now rejoice this week as the joint administrative order allowing them to hold training sessions has been signed Monday and is effective immediately.

The order, which involved the Games and Amusements Board, the Department of Health and the Philippine Sports Commission as signatories, has allowed players in the Philippine Basketball Association and the Philippines Football League to hold training sessions, albeit under stringent protocols to ensure the containment of the novel-coronavirus.

"Finally, the wait is over-- the JAO has been signed," said GAB chair Abraham Mitra in their statement.

Apart from the PBA and the PFL, combat sports are also included in their restart project, as boxing and mixed martial arts in the professional level are also under the auspices of GAB.

The said resolution had ended a five-month wait for the games to resume after it was shut down in line with the government's lockdown that caused all activities of sporting nature to a halt.

"We are so happy and excited that finally after more than four months our professional football and basketball players can now shake off some pounds they may have acquired during the quarantine," Mitra added.

Only one game in the PBA had been played this year when San Miguel beat Purefoods last March to open the season. On the other hand, the country's professional football league, now having Qatar Airways as the primary sponsor, had yet to open their new season after seeing their kick-off being delayed twice when the lockdown had been extended.

Both the PBA and the PFL are looking to start their season by August and September the earliest.

In the joint order, there are certain capacity limits in the training sessions, depending on which quarantine classification of each location.

With that in mind, all stakeholders are looking to get back to form and start playing competitively in at least a month.

"We expect them to practice maybe for a month or two to be match fit and hopefully when quarantine levels go down, they may be allowed to eventually play," Mitra concluded.
PHOTO: PBA and PFL (FILE)