Coke PBA Cebu hoop unfurls Monday

CEBU, Philippines - The 2013 Coca-Cola PBA Youngstars Basketball Tournament 2013 will kick off Monday at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Gym in Canduman, Mandaue City. Ten teams battle it out for supremacy in the Under 16/15/14/13 age-group segment with a chance of making it all the way to the national finals.

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Chito Salud will be the special guest at the opening ceremonies where he will be joined by Atty. Adel Tamano of Coca Cola.

Leading the pack this year are Team Lancers and Team Warriors, last year’s champion and runners-up, respectively. The other teams include the Eagles, ACES, Greywolves, Jaguars, Easternians, Perfect Sports Outfit/One on One, Panthers and Golden Dragons of Bohol. Each team is composed of 12 players, with three players each coming from the Under 13, 14, 15 and 16 age groups.

The Cebu leg is part of a nationwide network of provincial tournaments. The Cebu champion moves on to the Visayas Regional Finals where they face the champions from Bacolod and Iloilo. The Visayas champion then qualifies for the six-team national finals where they face off against the regional champions from Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Mindanao and the top two teams out of the National Capital Region.  (FREEMAN)