SBP Passerelle hoopla blasts off

CEBU, Philippines - A total of 31 teams converge as the Milo-backed BEST SBP/Passerelle Twin Tournament 2012 and the CYBL D-League both kick off on Saturday in a two-in-one opening ceremony affair at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Gym in Canduman, Mandaue City.

A heavy load of 11 games are on tap set to kick off the 26th season of the BEST SBP Passerelle Tournament and the third run of the CYBL D-League.

Leading the pack is SHS-Ateneo de Cebu which is defending its twin championships from last year. The Magis Eagles are seeking a sixth straight title in the Passerelle division, while their younger counterparts are going for a three-peat in the Small Basketeers Philippines (SBP) division. The battle for the championship is expected to be closer this season with the rise of the University of the Visayas (UV) and the entry of a united University of San Carlos (USC) program.

In the Passerelle division, 2011 runner-up UV is fresh from winning the SBP National U16 championship in January and placing second to San Beda/Taytay at the Coke PBA Youngstars Basketball Tournament last summer. UV’s grassroots program is now producing talented players and is expected to challenge SHS-Ateneo again this year.

SHS-Ateneo is ironically seeking a sixth straight title but with a line-up that is seen as its weakest in the past three years and which produced the likes of Philippine National Under-16 team members Henry Asilum and Rev Diputado.

USC will be a force to reckon with as it has put up a united team from both the USC North and South campuses.

Cebu Eastern College will also be in the mix, buoyed by its winning the Passerelle division championship of the pre-season CYBL Vismin Goodwill Games last May.

Also raring to strut their stuff is darkhorse Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U), University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR), Southwestern University (SWU) and Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC).

The SBP division looks to be a tight race among SHS-Ateneo, a united USC team and CEC, with the Baby Warriors tagged as slight favorites.

SHS-Ateneo won the SBP division title of the pre-season CYBL Vismin Goodwill Games, but USC has made adjustments to their line-up to come up with a more competitive team this year.

UV is the darkhorse of the lot as USJR and DBTC promise to spice up the action.

And if that weren’t enough, the CYBL SBP/Passerelle Developmental League (CYBL D-League) also kicks off tomorrow, featuring some 17 developmental teams.

SHS-Ateneo 2 defends its Passerelle title with 2011 runner-up UV-B and USC again stepping up this year.

USC North B is also back to defend its crown in the SBP division with USC South B.

The CYBL D-League was established to heed the call for more basketball activities in the youth / grassroots segment. The SBP and Passerelle segments have become the major source of players for all CESAFI high school teams today, with some moving to showcase their talents in the UAAP and NCAA.

For news and information about these tournaments, one can look up “BEST Center Sports Cebu” on Facebook. – PR (THE FREEMAN)