THE Visayas leg of the first-ever professional basketball league in the south, the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, would be held outside of Cebu City due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the area.
The league’s secretary-general Marvin Caro made this known during an online meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
“Due to the rising cases of Covid-19 in Cebu City, we are moving the tournament to Cebu province. There is a municipality in Cebu province with zero Covid-19 cases. We already coordinated with the mayor and we are scheduled to check the venue,” said Caro.
The league is set to implement strict protocols that include swab testing for every player and official days before the league’s opening.
Another test would also be conducted before they enter the bubble.
Games and Amusements Board (GAB) chairman Baham Mitra continued to remind everyone involved in this league to always toe the line when it comes to the health and safety protocols as one mistake could have a lot of repercussions for professional leagues all around the country.
Mitra also sent out a reminder to organizers to ask the participating teams to apply for a permit with GAB for their practices.
“They should also coordinate with the concerned local government units if they are going to hold their practices,” said Mitra. “I advised Rocky (Chan) to give the teams enough time to practice. The practices should not be done a week before the opening to protect the players from injuries.”
Mitra added that they would soon be facilitating a code of conduct seminar for players and officials as well as mobile licensing, especially since a lot of teams are already asking for permission to start practicing.
The Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup is slated to tip off on April 9. (JNP)