There will be delays in the preparations for the coming Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam as there is no approval yet given by the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases for any physical training.
Commissioner Ramon Fernandez of the Philippine Sports Commission said this after he was appointed chef de mission of the 31st SEA Games.
The Philippine Olympic Committee executive board approved of Fernandez’s new job during an executive board meeting on Tuesday.
“Matagal pa ang SEA Games. And we are still preparing for the Olympics,” said Fernandez, who played for the national men’s and youth basketball teams in the past.
For now, physical training under a bubble in Calamba, Laguna will commence this Saturday. The training stint is meant for athletes preparing to join Olympic qualification competitions.
“Sa Olympians muna tayo mag-concentrate,” added Fernandez.
The “Laguna bubble” will be a 90-day training stint for the sports disciplines of boxing, karatedo and karatedo at the Inspire Sports Academy.
Members of the Gilas Pilipinas men’s basketball team have also secured approval to train under a bubble this weekend in Calamba.
Selected players for the Gilas squad will be seeing action in February in the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
Fernandez will discuss his plans of action and the need to start the training of SEA Games-bound athletes during the POC General Assembly, slated at the end of the month.
Physical training, according Fernandez, will depend on IATF approval and the availability of the coronavirus vaccine.
The start of bubble training in Calamba was called off last weekend, after numerous members of the national squad encountered difficulty in returning the Metro Manila.
That’s because they still need help in securing travel passes from their respective provinces.