Asian berths staked in adidas finals today

The 2005 adidas Streetball Challenge comes down to a deciding weekend beginning today at the Festival Mall in Alabang with eight teams clashing not only for the national crowns in two divisions but also for precious slots in the Asian adidas Streetball Finals slated here in September.

There are actually 16 squads competing in the four-category championships, sponsored by the country’s leading sports apparel adidas, but only the seniors and girls divisions are staking berths in the Asian Streetball Finals slated Sept. 3-4 at the Araneta Coliseum.

NBA star Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets will be the main guest in the Asian Streetball Finals along with Portland guard Sebastian Telfair and New Orleans guard JR Smith.

Still, action in the midgets and juniors categories are expected to be fierce with the winner in each division receiving P10,000 in cash and P20,000 worth of gift certificates from adidas. The runners-up will get a cash prize of P5,000 plus P10,000 worth of adidas gift checks.

The two-day finals ending tomorrow starts at 9 a.m. with some of the PBA and UAAP stars gracing the event, which promises to be a survival of the fittest among the winners of the NCR, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao regional eliminations the last four months.

Pampanga, Cebu and Davao have the most number of teams in the finals with three each while La Salle-Greenhills sent two squads in the midgets and juniors divisions of the annual event co-presented by Globe Gentxt.

But focus will be on San Beda College, the most fancied team in the senior category which boasts of 6-4 and 6-3 players in Jay-R Taganas and Rogemar Manor. Completing the NCR champion squad are Eduardo Tecson and John Carlos Hermida Jr.

They will, however, be challenged by a crack field, including the talented Holy Angel University of Pampanga squad and the West Negros College of Bacolod with Bgy. MA-A of Davao raring to prove its worth in the tournament backed by McDonald’s, Cherifer Multivitamins, Snickers chocolate bar, Coppertone, adidas fragrance and body care, Blue Angel alcohol, Milo, Powerade, Viva Mineral Water, adidas eyewear and Yehey.com.

Keen competition is also seen in the girls, midgets and juniors divisions with Holy Angel U of Pampanga leading the chase for top honors in the girls side, which also includes UP-Diliman, University of San Carlos-Cebu and University of Mindanao (Davao).

La Salle Greenhills, on the other hand, is the team to watch both in the midgets and juniors divisions with the challenge to come from St. Scholastica Academy of Pampanga, Univ. of San Carlos-Cebu and City Gov’t of Cagayan de Oro in the midgets class. Out to foil the NCR champs bid in juniors play are University of Southern Phils.-Cebu, Urdaneta City and Ateneo de Davao.