PBA juniors take center stage today

The first-ever Burlington Junior PBA summer basketball league kicks off today at the Araneta Coliseum with elaborate opening rites that will be more like a dream sequence for over 100 kids from Metro Manila.

Ten teams representing different cities and wearing the uniforms of their favorite pro league teams parade around the Big Dome, complete with junior muses and accompanied by players from their mother PBA teams.

To cap off the festivities, four-time Most Valuable Player Alvin Patrimonio will lead the Oath of Sportsmanship. Top league officials led by commissioner Noli Eala and chairman Buddy Encarnado will also grace the affair.

"This is the PBA’s way of saying thank you’ to these kids, our most loyal fans, while at the same time paving the road for our future stars," said Eala.

"This promises to be fun and a learning experience to these kids who have decided to spend a healthy and sporty summer vacation with the No. 1 basketball league in the country."

The matches kick off immediately after the 12 noon opening rites, with a lone game pitting the Alaska Mandaluyong Junior Aces against the Ginebra Makati Junior Kings.

Norman Black, a multi-titled league coach and long-time Burlington endorser, will act as commissioner of the mini-tournament whose games will be played before each PBA double-header in Metro Manila.

The event comes on the heels of the successful PBA junior clinic that Black conducted for over 500 kids at the onset of the summer season.

Other competing teams are the FedEx San Juan Junior Express, Purefoods Taguig Junior Hotdogs, Coca-Cola Marikina Junior Tigers, Red Bull Pasay Junior Barako, Shell Manila Junior Turbo Chargers, San Miguel Beer Malabon Junior Beermen, Sta. Lucia Pasig Junior

Realtors and the Talk ŒN Text Quezon City Junior Phone Pals.

Games will be played under pro league rules, except for the standard junior basketball rule mandating teams to field three different sets of players for the first three quarters.

The top two teams at the end of a single-round, two-group elims clash in the one-game finals.