MANILA – The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has fully adopted the guidelines of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) on how basketball events can resume amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
"These guidelines are meant to be used as reference and aid when various leagues, tournaments and games organizers in the Philippines craft their own respective Return to Basketball programs depending on the circumstances surrounding them in their own localities," said SBP president Al Panlilio in a letter sent to stockholders and media organizations on Monday.
On May 26, FIBA, the world governing body of basketball, released the protocols that domestic basketball bodies can implement as they begin formatting ways to resume tournaments that have been stalled due to Covid-19.
The only minor difference is that while the SBP will primarily base its basketball risk assessment and mitigation checklist from the risk assessment guidelines set by the World Health Organization, it will also look at the guidelines made by the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
One major prerequisite made by FIBA for play-for-pay leagues to resume is the polymerase chain reaction testing for all its players.
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), where Panlilio serves as Meralco governor, has required all the players to undergo Covid-19 testing before they can even plan on resuming practice as resolved in its board meeting on Wednesday.
Five teams, the San Miguel Beermen, Barangay Ginebra, Magnolia Hotshots, Meralco Bolts, and NLEX Road Warriors, are already done with their Covid-19 testing.
A sixth squad, the TNT KaTropa, is expected to undergo its own Covid-19 testing this week.
The other six teams have yet to announce when they will undergo testing or if they already finished doing so.
These are Alaska, Rain or Shine, Blackwater, NorthPort, Phoenix, and Terra Firma.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial will talk to two representatives from each club on June 23 regarding the rest of the guidelines set during the board meeting. (PNA)
