MANILA, Philippines - The eighth Filipino-Indian Basketball League (FIBL)season kicks off with the Fil-India Cup tomorrow, with all four teams seeing action at the Makati Coliseum.
The Kings square off with the defending champion Blue Sharks in the first game at 3 p.m., followed by the Knights vs the Bombers at 5 p.m.
The Blue Sharks, under coach Gabby Velasco, will not give up their crown easily, with two-time MVP Manoj Chandumal at the helm and veteran Kishore Mirpuri and sophomore Vladimir Singh providing able support.
The Kings are banking on veteran Ramesh Mirchandani, Avin Chulani and Jasjit Dhaliwal under coach Mike Advani.
The Knights vow to improve their standing this season, with top scorer Mukesh Mohnani and brothers Parmdeep and Fuldeep Brar hoping to shore up their artillery and defense with Bert Flores calling the shots.
The Bombay Bombers will also be in the thick of the fight with top draft pick and veteran Ravi Gurnamal, Sanjeev Gangwani and RJ Chandumal expected to be the team enforcers under coach Jing Ruiz.
FIBL commissioner Dilip Budhrani said he is looking forward to an exciting season with the entry of new and promising players. Also, in line with his new vision for the league and his continuous quest to provide the Filipino-Indian community with live sports entertainment every Sunday, FIBL will introduce innovative features like the video wall at the venue in every game. More audience participation activities are also being lined up during the games.