Province-wide cagefest launched

CEBU, Philippines -  Hoop fans from all corners of the province have something to look forward to with the launching of the Cebu Provincial Basketball League, a ground-breaking hardcourt extravaganza spearheaded by some sports-minded Cebuano individuals and primarily backed up by International Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. The province-wide tiff with a time frame of four months is tentatively set for its maiden voyage in the local cagedom this November with no confirmed venue.

"We all know that sports is one way of encouraging the youth and young adults to indulge in healthy lifestyle and activity. And since basketball is probably the most popular sports in the country and in Cebu, we believe that everyone will support this upcoming league, especially the municipalities and their respective mayors as this event is one way of promoting the beautiful spots of each town," said Albert Alocillo, the league's founding commissioner.

"Also, this is one way of scouting athletes who have the potential to make it big to the national leagues. All in all, the goal of this league is to provide good competition, promote sports tourism, good sportsmanship and friendship, and to help teams, coaches, and players in upgrading their knowledge and skills to further produce a sustainable basketball program," he added.

Alocillo was joined by IPI Sports Management officer James Osorio, coaches Teroy Albarillo, Bong Abad, Rex Salvaña, and Aldrin Barola, and  technical committee chief Rey Cañete during the formal launching of the event yesterday at Port Seafood Restaurant.

Initially, the core organizing group has targeted 32 teams from the different municipalities in Cebu to take part in the tournament, 16 from the North Cluster and the other half from the South.

The contenders per cluster will be divided into two brackets of eight teams each, for which they will play in a double round robin format in the classification stage. The top two qualifiers per bracket will clash in the crossover semifinals, with the winners slugging it out for the topseed in their respective brackets. The top performers will then figure in a best-of-three duel for the cluster title and its prize tag of P200,000. The champion in the North and South clusters will slug it out in another best-of-three series for the first ever CPBL title and the P300,000 paycheck that goes along with it.

Alocillo said the CPBL is an open competition. Composed of 12 regular members, each team s allowed to hire one import in the elimination and two reinforcements in the semis. A player must be a registered voter of the town or municipality he is playing for.

"Since it's an open competition, anybody can play for a certain team as long as they comply with the eligibility rules set forth by the league," said Alocillo. "But as part of the organizing committee, we will try our best to balance the competition and level the playing field as much as possible."

Considering the very broad scope of the league, the next three months means a lot of work for the organizers.

But Osorio is upbeat on their latest venture that is definitely a big boost to Cebu sports.

"Having this kind of sporting endeavor entails a lot of challenge that is why we're egging on the support of everyone to make it successful. Afterall, we come up with this league not for IPI, not for the organizers, but for the entire Cebuano community," said Osorio. (FREEMAN)