3rd Red Durano hoopla opens Saturday

CEBU - Everything is already in place for the opening of the third edition of the Congressman Red Durano Cup Inter-Town Basketball Tournament this Saturday at the multi-million Danao City Sports and Civic Center.

A total of 11 teams from the fifth district of Cebu led by defending champion Liloan will join the competition. The rest of the entries are Borbon, Catmon, Compostela, Danao City, Pilar, Poro, San Francisco, Sogod and Tudela.

The tournament will be divided into two classes, the mainland and the island group. It will follow a single round robin format with the top three teams in the mainland and the top seeded squad in the island group advancing into the semifinals.

The champion will receive P50,000, while the second finisher will pocket P30,000. The third and fourth will receive P20,000 and P10,000, respectively.

An Italian-made trophy worth P20,000 is at stake for a team that can win the championship three times.

Event organizer Rep. Red Durano said the Inter-Town tilt was conceptualized some years ago as a way to unify the different towns and one city under the fifth district of Cebu. It is also their own way of showcasing the hoop skills of the youth in their district.

Curiously, the annual cagefest has already produced five players who are now enjoying athletic scholarhips being a member of the basketball varsity team in their respective schools in the CESAFI. They are

Sogod’s Alfred Belande, Danao’s Eric Zanoria and Eleazar Armecin, and Camotes’ Joseph Escober and Lloyd Poligrates, who are all with the SWU Cobras, and Danao’s Eulogio Laniosa who is with the CIT Wildcats.

To balance the competition, the top four of last year’s action - Liloan, Sogod, Poro and Danao - are allowed to field in only two varsity players. The rest can tap the services of two varsity and the same number of commercial cagers.

The two commercial players, however, are prohibited from playing together in the court.

Adding thrill to the competition is the reluctance of all the coaches to divulge their lineup save for Liloan, which according to The Freeman columist Bobby Motus will parade the same roster that won the championship last year with the addition of Mayor Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco. (THE FREEMAN)