AFFECTED by the long hours of travel from Manila to Pampanga, the NLEX Road Warriors decided to hold a bubble training camp in Mexico City, Pampanga until the end of the month.

Yeng Guiao, general manager and head coach of the Road Warriors, confirmed this in a text message to The Manila Times.

“We are just getting by trying to maximize opportunities to practice since these are abnormal times,” wrote Guiao. “Driving four to five hours almost every day last week had taken a toll on the quality of practices. That’s why we decided this week to go back to a bubble set up here in Pampanga.”

In last year’s PBA bubble tournament, NLEX was among the four teams eliminated early as the squad groped for form. The Road Warriors don’t want to repeat the same mistake this time. NLEX had previously held a training camp at the St. Paul American School, but went back to doing closed-circuit set up and individual workouts on different schedules.

Guiao believes a bubble training in Pampanga is a logical decision while waiting for the quarantine classification in the National Capital Region (NCR) to ease. NCR is still under general community quarantine with restrictions and 5-on-5 scrimmages are still not allowed.

That is why PBA teams hold practices in areas with moderate restrictions.

Like the Road Warriors, the Meralco Bolts were also forced to return to Ilocos Norte to hold another bubble training, according to head coach Norman Black.

Joining the Bolts in the bubble training is Alvin Pasaol, who just completed his 14-day quarantine after arriving from Austria for the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The burly but shifty Pasaol was the Bolts’ first round pick (ninth overall) in the 2021 PBA Rookie Draft.

NLEX, on the other hand, will be joined by veteran guard Jericho Cruz on Friday.

Cruz is on his way to complete the health protocols after arriving in the country last June 16. He played for the national team of Guam in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan.

The PBA is aiming to open its 46th season in July. REY JOBLE