Mantawi hosts Manila tonight in NBC cagefest

The Hapee/Dewfoam-backed Mantawi Sparkling Nights plays host to the Bacchus/Harbour Centre-Manila at 6:00 tonight in the Panasonic-NBC National Championship at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.

Over at the University of Baguio gym, Chia's Fastfood/Viacom Cable-backed Baguio Lions and Forward Taguig will clash in the penultimate day of the Northern Conference's classification round.
Games Today
(Mandaue City Sports Complex
6 pm Manila vs. Mantawi
(Univ. of Baguio gym)
6 pm Taguig vs. Baguio

The Sparkling Nights hold a 7-4 win-loss record and a victory would boost their chances of clinching the No.2 spot in the Southern Conference.

Meanwhile, the 2nd NBC Annual All-Stars will be held in two different cities, with the community-based league awarded the hosting rights to expansion teams Iligan Crusaders and the Valencia Golden Harvest, who both made impressive debuts.

The Crusaders, who boasts of the biggest and the loudest crowd in the league, will host the skills events and the game between the Mindanao All-Stars and the Visayas/Luzon All-Stars on Sept. 28 at the 5,000-seater Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) Gym.

"We're honored to co-host the Annual All Star of the NBC. It will be a big event for our city and a great gift to our fans here on the eve of our Fiesta, which will be on the 28th," said Iligan Mayor Lawrence Cruz.

The Crusaders, who ended their classification round campaign with an 8-5 record, are expected to land the top four in the strong southern conference.

The Mindanao All Stars will be coached by Crusaders' coach Billy Reyes, while the Luzon/Visayas All Stars will be handled by Mantawi Sparkling Nights' coach Jun Noel.

Preceding the game will be the two-ball competition, three-point shoot-out and the slam dunk competition.

Iligan team manager and sports director Freddie Siao said that an All-Star committee was formed and is already in full gear preparing for the event.

Valencia, on the other hand, will hosts the match between the pioneer teams' All-Stars and the expansion teams' All-Stars at the Valencia Gym.

"We're excited to co-host the league's All Star and this will again put our city in the basketball map of the country," Valencia Mayor Jose Galario, Jr. said. ( with NBC Media Bureau)