Coke Hoopla inter-zonal under way

MANILA, Philippines - The Coca-Cola Hoopla 2010 Inter-zonal stage gets under way today with Pasig taking on Caloocan and Makati battling Muntinlupa at the Kolisiyum ng Bayan in Makati.

Pasig, which ruled the East in the inter-city phase, defeating Quezon City, Marikina and Pateros, and Caloocan, which beat Navotas, Malabon and Valenzuela in the North, collide at 5 p.m.

At 7 p.m., Makati, which took Central after the resolution of a three-way tie with Manila and San Juan, meets Muntinlupa, which dominated the South, besting Las Piñas, Parañaque, Pasay and Taguig.

The four city teams play a double-round affair with the top two teams disputing the championship and the P250,000 top prize. The runnerup brings home P125,000, the third placer gets P75,000, and the fourth placer P50,000.

A brainchild of Coca-Cola Export and organized by Jomapage Inc., the tournament saw players from the different National Capital Region barangays with a cutoff age of April 16, 1991 taking on each other since April.

“All four teams are well-balanced and well-coached, and all have equal chances of `winning the championship,” said deputy commissioner Jojo Villa. “I think it all boils down to coaching and execution.”