Meralco coach Norman Black is glad to see his players finally get out of their hotel room and start preparing for the restart of the PBA Philippine Cup on Oct. 11 inside the bubble in Pampanga.

The Bolts and the Magnolia Hotshots became the first teams to hold five-on-five scrimmages at the campus of Angeles University Foundation after spending the past three days waiting for their COVID-19 tests to come back negative at the Quest Hotel in Clark.

It was also the first time PBA teams were able to hold scrimmages after being limited to drills and workouts while practicing health protocols prior to their entry in Clark.

“It was nice to get out of the hotel room, it was nice to get into practice and, more important, it was nice to see the players on the court again,” Black said after Meralco’s training session that started 1 p.m. at AUF's multi-purpose hall which was converted into a practice area.

With 10 days left before the season resumes, Black would rather prefer preaching the things his players are already familiar with prior to the season stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What I’m going to do is to keep things simple as possible,” said Black. “I’m going to try and review and practice things that the players already know. We don’t really have much time adding new things, but at this point it’s important that we be good at what we know so we can be competitive.”

Black and the Bolts are hoping to end a string of disappointing performances in the Philippine Cup and try to replicate their success during most of the import-laden conferences.