Inter – City caging to start Nov. 10

Cebuano hoop fans get a new taste of Community-based hardcourt action with the staging of the 1st Cebu Inter-City Cup Basketball Challenge set to kick off on November 10 at the Don Celestino Martinez, Sr. Memorial Coliseum in Bogo City.

League organizer and BAP-Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) Cebu Province director Lorenzo “Chao” C. Sy announced in a meeting yesterday at Hotel Fortuna that a total of eight teams have already confirmed their participation in the two-month tilt.

Cebu City will be fielding in two teams from its North and South districts. The rest of the entries are the cities of Bogo, Toledo, Mandaue, Carcar, Danao, and Lapu-Lapu. Talisay begged reportedly due to financial constraints.

Tournament commissioner Jose “Boy” Murillo said the participating teams will play a double round robin, home-and-away format in the classification round. The teams with the best record will enjoy homecourt advantage in the next level of the competition.

The top four will proceed into the semifinals wherein the top seed goes up against the No.4 and the second-ranked squad takes on the No.3 seed in a best-of-three series. The winners will then clash for the championship also in a best-of-three affair.

“This will surely give the Cebuanos a new brand of basketball competition. Given the home-and-away format, it will surely add fire and enthusiasm to the spectators especially the the supporters of the host team,” said Chao Sy.

In conformity with its grassroots thrust, active collegiate varsity and commercial players are ineligible to play. However, each city is allowed to reinforce its team with at a maximum of two former collegiate and commercial players who have been inactive for at least three years prior to the start of the tournament.

The organizers have also set stiff sanctions depending on the gravity of the offense. A team which stages a walkout will be fined P10,000, while any team member who will intimidate the opposing team during a particular game shall be banned from the tournament.

“We are doing this to make sure that our rules and regulations are strictly being followed. This is very essential for the smooth flow of the competition,” said Murillo, who emphasized that the Inter-City basketball “shall revolve around the values of sportsmanship, fair play, fraternity, camaraderie, and discipline, which are the hallmarks of a responsible Filipino.”