THE Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) released on Monday a 19-page Return to Basketball Guidelines in the hope of bringing back the sport amid the pandemic that remains a threat with the absence of a vaccine.
The guidelines, according to SBP President Al Panlilio, were culled from the guidelines issued by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) that was drawn for the information and guidance of its national federations.
“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,” Panlilio said.
“While all of us are eager to go back to playing the sport we all love dearly, the guidelines cannot overemphasize the need to have the safety, health and well-being of Filipino fans as paramount above all else,” Panlilio added.
Panlilio, however, stressed that the Fiba pointed out that its guidelines are “not intended to replace the guidance and restrictions of governments and public authorities.”
In the guidelines, Panlilio said the federation asked its stakeholders to monitor the severity of the situation within the local government units and how the areas have adjusted to the “new normal,”—from the ease of travel restrictions to the medical capacity of an area to fight the pandemic.
“The SBP reiterates that it is closely communicating with the Inter-Agency Task Force [IATF] on Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Department of Health for the national government’s take on allowing basketball to resume activity,” he said.
The basketball body hopes activities for “both individual and small groups in 3×3 and 5 on 5” be allowed “with proper observance of good sanitation and turning away from unnecessary contacts in and out of the court.”
The IATF has permitted running, cycling, golf, swimming, tennis, badminton, equestrian and skateboarding under the general community quarantine.
“This is a slow and careful process that needs to be well planned,” Panlilio said.
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