MAGNOLIA and Meralco team members arrived one after the other in Clark on Monday and everyone had to undergo another round of swab testing for Covid-19, prompting Hotshots Head Coach Chito Victolero to say he couldn’t anymore remember how many times his team underwent the procedure.
“I just can’t remember anymore how many times we were tested,” Victolero told BusinessMirror in a phone interview from the lobby of the Quest Hotel, the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) home for the next 49 days in the bubble at the freeport zone.
But for a league that was shuttered for seven months and clamoring to resume its stunted 45th season, it’s better to be safe than sorry as the country still counts virus infections to the thousands each day.
“It was like the regular thing upon our arrival—checked in at the hotel and asked for our details,” Victolero said. “The difference was—and what we all anticipated—we went directly to QR [coding] and sanitation and we lined up for another swab testing even though we already had one last Wednesday.”
“We have been tested [again] and we will have to remain in our rooms for two days until the results come out. Practices are scheduled for Wednesday,” the Bolts’ Coach Norman Black said through a text message.
Everyone on the bubble will have to be confined to their hotel rooms for two days until the tests results are available.
After that, the team members who test negative can roam the hotel and use its amenities, including the golf course and swimming pool. Scrimmages will start on Thursday at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in nearby Angeles City.
Also arriving in the bubble on Monday were Phoenix Super LPG, TNT Tropang Giga and Terra Firma Dyip. Due on Tuesday are NorthPort, San Miguel Beer, NLEX, Rain or Shine, Blackwater, Alaska and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
There will be a total of 90 games in the bubble as the PBA restarts the Philippine Cup on October 11 also at the Angeles University Foundation Gym.
No one will be allowed to leave the bubble with violators being fined P100,000 by the league. On top of the fine, a player who breaks the rules will be suspended for five games next season.
The bubble closes on October 11.
Image credits: CDC-CD