MANILA – The two teams under the Rebisco umbrella in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) have been given the green light to do their training in Angeles City's Central Business District.
The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) approved the request of Creamline and Choco Mucho to hold a training bubble at the St. Paul American School inside the Clark Freeport Zone.
Under the joint administrative order by GAB, the Philippine Sports Commission, and the Department of Health, professional athletes can hold their training only in areas under the least restrictive modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
Angeles City, like the rest of Pampanga, is under MGCQ, making it a fitting venue for the training bubble to take place.
"Considering the alarming spike in the number of Covid-19 cases, I am happy to learn that two teams of PVL have decided to stage their conditioning inside a bubble. This move is really an added safety measure,” GAB chairman Baham Mitra said on Monday.
GAB had previously allowed all the PVL teams to hold their training bubbles in various locations in Metro Manila even if the province was then still under GCQ in anticipation of a possible May bubble season start at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
However, the training was stalled when Metro Manila, Laguna, and three nearby provinces were placed under lockdown during the Holy Week due to the Covid-19 spike, which was later extended for another week.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has since eased the quarantine status of the so-called NCR Plus to modified enhanced community quarantine, but professional sports practices were still not allowed, prompting the two teams to set up their own Clark bubble.
Creamline and Choco Mucho's training bubble will start on Tuesday and will run until May 23.
The PVL is now scheduled to open its 2021 season sometime in June. (PNA)
