J Centre Mall invites companies, orgs to join Corporate League

CEBU, Philippines - Encouraged by the success of Lord of the Rings-Battle of the Villages, the Christmas series of HoopStars Basketball at J Centre Mall, organizers have responded to calls to host and organize an inter-company basketball tournament. Dubbed as the 2013 Corporate League, the new series at the roofdeck basketball court of J Centre Mall is slated to open on February 2 and will run for two months with two games daily at 6:30 pm and 8 pm, except on Sundays, until March 24. Companies organized under Philippine laws may join the league, disclosed Joseph James “Jojo” Cornejo, HoopStars chairman and marketing consultant of J Centre Mall. At least 10 players of the 15-man roster of every team must be regular organic employees of the company, while the rest may be staff of direct suppliers or direct service providers like consultants, he said. All players must be of legal ages, certified and properly endorsed by the company’s top manager or head of its human resource department with explicit permission that they have the blessings to carry the name of the company or any of the brands it carries. Cornejo also disclosed that non-profit and non-government organizations may join the Corporate League for as long as they are duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other certifying bodies of the state. But he said the players must be card-bearing members for at least one year. Players with professional or commercial basketball experience are not allowed in HoopStars, Cornejo stressed, bringing back to fore the case of Hermag Village that got disqualified and was prevented from playing in the playoffs of the recent Christmas series for such violation. Those who were varsity players in high-school or college can play in the league, he added. Registration is only P5,000 with the eventual champion winning at least P25,000 and the first runner-up P10,000, plus trophies and gifts from J Centre Mall tenants. According to Cornejo, representatives of some companies have expressed interest to join the Corporate League as the J Centre Mall basketball court now has a new electronic scoreboard with shotclock and horn, first used during the finals of the Battle of the Villages last Christmas. Those interested include firms in the hospitality industry like AirPhil Express, Diamond Suites, Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, Marriott Hotel, Park Lane Hotel, Radisson Blu Hotel, Shangri-La Mactan Resort Hotel, St. Mark Hotel, and JDS Travel & Tours. The others also include AMA Computer College (instructors), Cebu Holdings Inc., Oishi maker Liwayway Marketing Corp., PAREF Springdale School (teachers), Ting Guan Trading, Cherubim Security Agency, and Deca Homes builder 8990 Housing Development Corp. Some teams under the Jaycees Basketball Association, whose players are card-bearing members of Junior Chamber International-Metro Cebu Uptown and other local JCI chapters will also join, bared Christian Paroan, CEO of J Centre Mall tenant RC Goldline and a JCI past president. Those interested to join the Corporate League may send an email intent to jcentre.hoopstars@gmail.com or visit marketing associate Jade Cuñado at the J Centre Mall-Marketing Department. (FREEMAN)