Liga opener pits Oilers vs Meteors

MANILA, Philippines - The Quezon Province leg of the Smart Liga Pilipinas Conference III tour elimination phase kicks off today with the three top finishers of last conference and a brand-new team from the North seeing action at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.

Host Quezon Red Oilers face guest team the EBK Apayao Rapids, two-leg winners M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños and the defending national champion Misamis Oriental Meteors.

The Rapids are seeking to become a regular member of the league in place of the Toyota Bacolod Turbos, who have decided to skip the last three legs due to “unavoidable circumstances”.

“We accept the decision of Toyota Bacolod Turbos to skip the succeeding legs for reasons that are unavoidable at this time. However, we are very excited to welcome Liga’s newest member the Apayao Rapids and we look forward to accepting them as regular members in the next conference.” said Liga Pilipinas CEO and president Noli Eala.

Due to league rules that a team must complete all of their four tour legs to become a regular active member, the Apayao Rapids will be participating only as a guest team in their next three legs, one of which will be played in their home turf in Kalinga, Apayao on Oct. 21.