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HEALTH protocols in the final window of the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers will be stricter than those adopted in the PBA Philippine Cup bubble.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) said that Fiba’s hierarchy will require all visiting teams to undergo COVID-19 testing 72 hours prior to departure and then undergo another procedure upon arrival at Clark International Airport.
Players and other team members who will be deemed positive will be isolated at a location agreed upon by the SBP and the Base Development and Conversion Authority (BCDA) led by President and Executive Secretary Vince Dizon.
“Depending on the procedure we work with the Sec. Dizon group, it is possible that they will transfer you to an isolation facility until everything is clear again,” emphasized SBP executive director Sonny Barrios during a virtual press conference on the Clark’s sports bubble on Saturday.
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Players who feel positive will have to stay in the country, even if it means their team will leave them behind once their campaigns are over.
“If you delay 14 days, even if your equipment is gone before 14 days, it will remain in the quarantine place until it is okay. That’s how strict Secretary Vince’s group will be. That’s why keep repeating [that] he intends to turn it into an even safer bubble than the one we have, “added Barrios, himself a former PBA commissioner.
The teams that will be tested upon arrival in the country will only have to be isolated at least one day before the results are known.
Also, all teams will stay in one per room at the Quest Hotel.
“It’s one per room. The room is not shared, ”Barrios said.
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The FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers are adopting the same bubble configuration observed by the PBA when playing the Philippine Cup, which they successfully hosted by playing games in the University of Angeles Foundation gymnasium.
But SBP President Al S. Panlilio said talks are still ongoing with FIBA officials on the protocols to be observed for the final window of the qualifiers set February 18-21.
During the second window held in a bubble configuration in Bahrain, teams had to wait two days before learning their respective COVID-19 results.
