Solar, BTV open MVP Lounge

The MVP Lounge will be formally launched tomorrow with the presentation of the PBA Players Night at the Sports Plus Café.

Starting at 8 p.m. onwards, the event is staged by Solar Sports and Basketball TV as a treat to its loyal subscribers. The gathering gives cable viewers of the two sports channels the chance to meet and greet some of the top PBA players today.

The MVP Lounge is expected to become the place where sports aficionados hobnob on the latest highlights coming their way.

It also focuses on the exclusivity of Solar MVP card holders by giving VIP treatment on the string of events lined up monthly for the whole year.

The Solar MVP card is the exclusive membership card born from the combined efforts of Solar Sports and Basketball TV. It was first released in Aug. 2008 and will be available through the upcoming events supported by the Solar MVP card.

Expect a different event every month with a unified goal of making Solar MVP cardholders supreme on the exclusive chances and opportunities of being on the spotlight and to be extended the privileges otherwise not given without the card.

ILLAM hosts SEA tourney

The International Little League Association of Manila (ILLAM) will represent the country in the Southeast Asian Little League baseball-softball tournament set March 22-28 at the Ateneo football field.

The event is a yearly international game participated in by teams from Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines. It is composed of five age group divisions featuring 500 athletes.

“We will be on home ground and this will definitely be a major factor in our bid to do well in tournament,” said ILLAM president Rene Banzon.

The regular season of ILLAM is supported by Shang Properties, Purefoods-Hormel, 99.5 RT, ABS-CBN Foundation, The AES Corp., Anflo Investment & Management Corp. Inc., Asian Eye, Bacchus Epicerie, BPI Jumpstart, California Pizza Kitchen, Capital Servicing Advisors Phils., CB Richard Ellis, Century Properties, Connell Brothers, Level Up!, Fe S. Panlilio, First Guarantee Life Assurance Co., Inc., QTV 11, Harris Communications, Herma Group of Companies, Knight Capital, Luisita Heroes, Mister Donut and Nuvali.

 Omni Insurance Brokers, Pancake House, Philips, Powerade, Race Queen Inc., SM Bonus, Teleperformance, Terabyte Solutions, Inc., ZMG Signium Ward Howell, and Arsenio Laurel Family.

Jolly Gomez, district administrator of Little League Philippines, said that the continued international exposure of local players would redound to further development of the sport in the county.

Grace Christian, Xavier score anew

Former RP Youth member Jeric Teng put on another shooting clinic, firing 55 points, including a record 12 triples as Xavier School downed arch-rival Chiang Kai Shek, 109-85, in the 39th Yakult Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association (MMTBA) Championship Wednesday at the UNO High School gym.

The game was so tight in the first two quarters until the 6-foot-1 Teng came through with a barrage of three-pointers midway in the third quarter and set the tone for the team’s another runaway win.

With the win, the Golden Stallions tied tournament revelation Grace Christian College for the lead on similar 3-0 records in the tournament sponsored Rusty Lopez, Converse, Puma, Davies Paint, FG Jeans, Burlington, MEC Computer, Healthy Options, Outlast and PG Flex Linoleum.

Banking on the red-hot shooting of Christian So and Lawrence Anthony Chua, Grace Christian College outlasted St. Jude Catholic School, 67-59, for its best start in years.

So and Chua combined for 42 points, thus negating the 36-point, 13-rebound effort of forward Kim Lo. St. Jude dropped to 1-3.

It was the second time in three games that Teng, son of former San Miguel bruiser Alvin, came through with a 50-point plus performance. He outscored the entire Hope Christian High School when he tallied 52 points in the team’s 120-43 victory in the opening day.

In the team’s 97-70 win over St. Stephen’s last Friday, Teng, who is being courted by several big schools in the UAAP, scored 35 points. His best output was 75 when he powered the Caesar Wongchuking-managed Xavier to the championship over Lourdes School-Quezon City in the Phil. Athletic Youth Association.

Meantime, league chairman Milton Yu announced that today’s game will be aired on Makisig Sports Network (72 and 86) tomorrow from 5 to 9 p.m. while Saturday’s matches will be shown the following day at the time slot. Wednesday’s matches are shown every Thursday at the same time slot.

Last call for BEST clinics

Last day of registration for Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training (BEST) Center clinics at the Xavier School in San Juan is on Saturday, BEST Center founder and president Nic Jorge announced yesterday.

Xavier clinics are held every Saturday, 1-4:30 p.m. A 30-minute extension is being given to students after the Milo-sponsored clinic was cancelled last Jan. 17 due to an official school activity.

Levels offered are Introduction to Basketball, Levels 1, 2, 3 and 5.

BEST Center graduates from Xavier School include Chris Tiu, T. Y. Tang and Joseph Yeo.