1st Got Skills Age Group cage set

MANILA, Philippines - Over 600 kids will see action in the first staging of the Got Skills Age Group Basketball Showdown set in November.

Organizers said the tournament will run for 12 weekends starting Nov. 10 at the Xavier School sports complex in San Juan.

The cagefest has attracted at least 13 schools which will field teams in five age categories, the 9-10-11-12-13 year old levels.

Eleven teams are participating in the 13-year-old category, led by La Salle Greenhills, National University, San Beda-Taytay, Chiang Kai Shek School, Diliman Preparatory School and La Salle Zobel in Group A.

In Group B are La Salle-Greenhills-B, Marist, Don Bosco, Southeastern and San Beda-Alabang.

There are eight squads in the 12-year-old side, seven in the 11-year-old, six in the 10-year-old level and five in the 9-year-old level.

In the 13-year-old class, the top four teams in each bracket will advance to the quarterfinals, fight it out for slots in the semifinals and the finals.

Got Skills started out as an individual training program which caters to the elementary up to college level.

The program is designed for kids whose passion is playing basketball and would want to learn and develop core muscle power and endurance.

It is the mission of the tournament to promote and provide basketball programs for ages 9 to 13 that will stimulate their health, development and enjoyment in a safe environment, and develop fitness, wellness, social interaction, team work, fair play, representative and leadership opportunities.