PSC slows down training of some athletes due to COVID-19 surge
MOST of the national athletes hoping to resume their training on Monday would have to wait a little longer after the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) decided to delay it due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surge.
“Maybe not for now, they would have to enter one at a time,” said PSC commissioner and Hanoi Southeast Asian (SEA) Games chef de mission Ramon Fernandez on Monday.
There were some national pool members though who have entered the targeted venues like those in karate, boxing and triathlon/duathlon.
The boxers and karatekas have resumed their training in Baguio while the triathletes and duathletes staged their own bubble training.
The PSC had already identified the PhilSports Complex in Pasig, the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and the Teachers Camp in Baguio as its training areas for the Nationals preparing for the SEA Games set on May slated for May 12-23 and the Hangzhou Asiad set on Sept. 10-25.
If allowed entry, they would have to face the danger of training beside COVID-19 facilities nearby like the Rizal Memorial Coliseum and Ninoy Aquino Stadium and the PhilSports Arena, who were on the brink of being filled, if not in full capacity already, due to the spike in cases.
That is why the sports-funding agency had named its national training director Marc Velasco handle the entry and formulate new, stricter guidelines for Alert Level 3 areas like the National Capital Region.
National track and field coach Jojo Posadas hopes the situation would improve.
“It’s tough especially with four months to go before the SEA Games. It would be tough to recover,” said Mr. Posadas, who added that some of the athletes have trained on their own at the Vermosa in Cavite. — Joey Villar
