Cebu to host first road games of Filoil hoopla

CEBU, Philippines -  Cebuano basketball fans have something else to look forward to this summer as the Queen City of the South plays host to the first ever road games of the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup.

A part of its carefully orchestrated plan to expand the tournament across the archipelago, the five-day provincial joust is slated on May 21-25 in two different venues. Action in the first three days will be staged at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex, while the final two days will be at the Hoopsdome in Lapu-Lapu City.

"Our plans for expansion began last season when we invited SWU," said Filoil tournament director Joey Guillermo in a press conference yesterday at Sunburst-Mango. "We saw how well they played towards the end of Filoil and during the PCCL where they defeated La Salle. The exposure to top-flight competition helps. This year, we are continuing that expansion by not only adding new teams but also taking games out of town."

The exciting hardcourt action features reigning UAAP champion La Salle Green Archers and defending Filoil title-holder University of the East Red Warriors. They will go up against the top ballclubs of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. led by the University of the Visayas Green Lancers, Southwestern University Cobras and the University of San Carlos Warriors.

Out-of-town matches usually occur during the Philippine Collegiate Champions League and the University Games, but Filoil is branching out to schools all over the country this early.

Guillermo said these road games will provide opportunities for the Cebuanos to see the cream of Manila competition before they embark on their respective campaigns in the UAAP and at the same time provide a good barometer for local teams in terms of where they are as far as their skills and level of competitiveness are concerned.

"We look forward to seeing the response of out countrymen to the league and the competition. This kind of exposure will definitely help in bringing up the quality of basketball and hopefully, help in the grassroots development," said Guillermo.

Tickets for the upcoming Filoil Cebu games are priced at P30 for general admission, P80 for upperbox and P200 for lowerbox. Season tickets, good for five games, are available at P250 for the upperbox and P600 for the lowerbox. For further details, one may keep in touch with Asila Malazarte at 0922-4703770. (FREEMAN)