The Games and Amusement Board will investigate the Blackwater Elite team, which conducted practices last Saturday ahead of the approval that was eventually given by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
GAB chairman Abraham “Baham” Mitra said the IATF resolution has yet come out when the Elite squad began working out already.
Practice sessions in basketball were scheduled to start on July 22.
At the same time, the PBA Commissioner’s Office has requested the management of Blackwater to explain its side.
“The Joint Admin Order of GAB, PSC and DOH plus the IATF reso has not yet come out and they violated the restrictions,” said Mitra in a statement.
Mitra added that fines and suspensions are expected to be handed out to the players involved.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial sent the team owners a letter dated July 14, addressed to team governor Silliman Sy.
The team owners have been asked to explain what took place during the practice session.
It was learned that Blackwater held a team workout last Saturday.
At the workout, eight players were split into clusters of four, with each session lasting for an hour.
On July 3, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said that the IATF has given the green light after reviewing the protocols submitted by the PBA and the PFF. At that time, there were no specific guidelines released yet by the IATF on the conduct of the practice sessions.
“Basketball is already allowed by the IATF and the decision was only made yesterday. It’s conditioning only, no game,” said Roque.
The protocols were forwarded by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Games and Amusements Board last month after consultations with various national sports associations.