Protocol breaches to be penalized

MANILA, Philippines — The PBA is poised to penalize violators of the health and safety protocols of their training restart, particularly the current ban on scrimmages.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said the government-approved team workouts will be limited to four players per batch doing individual drills and conditioning at this point but they hope to get scrimmages finally permitted by August.

“May fines pag nag-violate. First offense is P20,000 then it will double to P40,000, P80,000,” Marcial told The STAR.

He issued the warning on the heels of the recent pickup game participated in by Barangay Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar and Rain or Shine’s Adrian Wong.

Aguilar and Wong were fined P20,000 apiece and ordered to undergo a pair of COVID-19 testing in between a 14-day quarantine period plus 30 hours of community service.

Moreover, violators also face possible penalties from their respective squads, according to NLEX coach Yeng Guiao.

“If you fail to follow our protocols, aside from the PBA, there will be a penalty from the teams internally, so it’s a double whammy,” Guiao said on The Chasedown on One Ph.

“Five-on-five is still strictly prohibited based on the regulations of the IATF,” he added.

The board of governors last Saturday formally approved the training resumption, which the PBA is eyeing for July 20 or 22.

Before heading to the gyms, the teams must make sure they already tested negative from COVID-19. And once the sessions begin, everyone is mandated to undergo three swab tests 10 days apart for each month.

The PBA views the return to limited, small group training sessions as a step in the right direction.

“We’re preparing our protocols for the next phase and if the coming practices go well, we hope we can convince the IATF to allow scrimmages,” said Marcial who plans to submit another request by August.