TROUBLE AHEAD OF BUBBLE

The PBA is looking into what could be an unauthorized practice held by the Blackwater Elite ahead of the league’s official training restart.

“Susulatan natin ang Blackwater (We’ll write Blackwater a letter to get its side),” PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said in the wake of the session that might be in violation of the league’s guidelines.

The PBA actually got the greenlight from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to resume non-scrimmage training sessions in small groups last July 3.

But Marcial maintained the pro league hasn’t officially flagged off practices yet pending completion of the mandatory swab testing for all teams. The target is July 22 at the earliest.

“Bawal pa, wala pang clearance from the PBA (Teams are not cleared to practice yet),” stressed Marcial, declining to say what sanction, if ever, awaits the Elite.

Blackwater, according to owner Dioceldo Sy in Tuesday’s Sports Page on TV5, practiced over the weekend observing the PBA’s safety guidelines.

“I personally saw them last Saturday. I went to the practice. I saw the protocol. What we’re doing is very strict,” Sy said.

Marcial has warned of hefty fines for the protocol breach starting from P20,000 up to P100,000 for repeat offenses.

There’s also a corresponding fine pegged of at least P5,000 for players who would falsely declare – or deliberately omit – their activities outside the required home-gym-home daily routine during the workouts.

Meanwhile, Marcial said the pro league has allowed the teams to give players with soon-to-expire contracts an extension until the end of the year.

“Nagdesisyon ang governors lahat ng players extended hanggang Dec. 31. Option ng team yan,

kundi hindi ka mapapa-pirma, free agent ka (Governors decided that all players with expiring contracts can be extended until Dec. 31. It will be an option for the teams; those who won’t be extended will become free agents),” Marcial said during yesterday’s online PSA Forum.

A number of PBA stars will see their current pacts lapsing either end of July or August, led by San Miguel’s Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot, whose original deals expire next month.

The PBA exec added the extension could even stretch to January 2021 if the eyed tournament resumes and its championship series goes beyond December.

“Swerte ng players, may PBA o wala, may kontrata sila hanggang Dec. 31,” said Marcial.