Looks like PBA teams will have to settle for another round of individual workouts or small group practices if they want to train inside the National Capital Region.

As Malacañang announced the extension of general community quarantine (GCQ) with restrictions from June 1 to 15, the only way PBA teams could hold scrimmages is to do it in areas outside the NCR Plus bubble.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial and Games and Amusements Board chairman Baham Mitra confirmed this to The Manila Times on Tuesday.

'We can only train in the NCR with small group practices or individual workouts, just like what we did before the implementation of the ECQ [enhanced community quarantine],' Marcial said in a telephone interview.

'But if we want to hold scrimmages, we have to do it outside the NCR Plus bubble.'

Mitra referred to the Joint Administrative Order (JAO), which prohibits the NCR from holding indoor events, including sports. In the GCQ with restrictions, inter-zonal travel is also prohibited, but PBA members are already considered APOR (authorized person outside of residence), so they can travel and train in areas with less strict community quarantine status.

'Negative,' Mitra responded via Facebook Messenger when asked if they will seek clarification with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases. 'It's already in the JAO. They can do practice, but no scrimmage.'

For more than a week, PBA teams were forced to hold scrimmages outside of the NCR Plus Bubble. Nine squads were able to take turns, alternating practices in two venues in Batangas City - the Batangas City Coliseum and Lyceum.

TNT and Meralco trained under a bubble set up in Ilocos Norte while NLEX held its scrimmages in Clark City, Pampanga.