Revived NBAC hoopla takes off today

CEBU, Philippines - After years of inactivity, the Newsmen Basketball of Association of Cebu (NBAC) reopens shop on Sunday with a triple header at the barangay Apas gym in Cebu City.

Seven teams, representing various media outfits in Cebu City, will vie for this year's crown.

The league will still be supervised by long-time commissioner Ret. Commodore/Bro. Bobby “Knight” Inoferio. Assisting Inoferio in overseeing the league are the following officers: Lloyd Suarez (president), Chris Ligan (vice president for television), June Perez (vice president for radio), Jun Migallen (vice president for print), Calvin Cordova (secretary), Rudy Quimod (treasurer), Jun Zaldy (auditor), Aldo Banaynal (PRO) and Ramil Ayuman (consultant).

Spicing up the opening day is the selection of best muse.

All teams with their complete lineup are required to join the opening ceremony which will start at 7 a.m. Failing to do so will mean a P500 fine, said Inoferio.

Facing off in the 8 a.m. first game are newcomer TV5 and ABS-CBN. The second game pits The FREEMAN/Bombo Radyo versus GMA-7/dySS while the third game will have Cebu Daily News/dyLA going up against Cebu Catholic Television Network (CCTN).

Drawing a bye is SunStar Cebu.

The league follows a single round robin format with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals. In the semis, the number one team will take on the number four squad while the number three squad will play the fourth seed. The top two semifinalists will enjoy twice-to-beat edges against their lower-ranked foes.

 The championship round will be a best-of-three affair, while the battle-for-third will be a knockout contest. - THE FREEMAN