Despite strictly following the guidelines set by the Joint Administrative Order for the resumption of sports practices and implementing technological advancements, the Inter-agency Task Force denied Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3’s application for a license for resumption, Thursday afternoon.
The Department of Health will only allow tournaments held inside a full bubble.
The country’s first-ever professional 3×3 basketball league proposed a semi-bubble set-up for the President’s Cup, powered by TM, which will see players and staff that have passed strict testing inside Inspire Academy in Calamba, Laguna for four days.
Even with this setback, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 president Ronald Mascariñas’ faith will not waver, calling for an emergency meeting.
And the FIBA 3×3-endorsed league is planning to change course, as the President’s Cup powered by TM will switch to a full bubble.
“We are committing to doing a full bubble with each conference taking place inside Inspire Academy for 15 days,” said Mascariñas.
When asked if this will shift the planned October 2 start date, Mascariñas shared they will try hard to get clearance from the agencies involved.
Games and Amusement Board chairman Baham Mitra also said that he will help Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3’s appeal.
Since August, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3’s protocols have been widely lauded by GAB and Commission on Higher Education.
“Nakita ko ang ginawa nila Eric Altamirano sa UP. Ang ganda. Dapat ito ang model ng amateurs,” said CHED chairman Popoy De Vera about the workouts being done in UP Epsilon Chi Center.
“I’m impressed with the preparations being done by Chooks-to-Go,” said Mitra last Monday after the test run in Inspire.
“They did not just meet the requirements, but also improved on their submitted safety protocols.”
Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 implements weekly PCR tests for its players while having antigen tests before workouts.
Players, staff, and officials are also required to log in GET Philippines’ contact tracing application.
Besides this, family members and household helpers of each player, staff, and official also have to undergo PCR tests and have GET Philippines accounts when the league participants are inside the bubble.
