LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – A basketball tournament that will practically take all teams to all 13 Benguet towns is ready to start.
This with the launching of inaugural Congressman Eric Go Yap Basketball Cup this Saturday, September 16, at the Benguet State University gym here.
Fourteen teams from the 13 Benguet municipalities will see action in the first ever Congressional Cup backed by his office to involve not just young cagers but also veterans in a single round robin competition where all towns could play host.
The congressman will be joined by Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas and the 13 town mayors, who practically are team managers of their respective squads.
Ceremonial rites begin at the BSU gym where school president Felipe Comila will be host and each team having its own muse, the best will be named before the start of gamez.
The 280 players will also take their oath of sportsmanship as they embark on the three month long competitions that will take players to the mining towns of Mankayan in the north and Tuba and Itogon down south and as high as Mount Pulag in Kabayan and the former highest highway in the cloud kissed Atok, now famous for its succulent and plants that could rival Bahong in the capital town.
La Trinidad will have two teams and one each from Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, Tublay, Bokod, Kabayan, Atok, Kapangan, Bakun, Kibungan, Mankayan and Buguias, with each expected to host weekend games.
Games will immediately start after the ceremonial toss by Yap, a basketball player himself and a big lover of sports including mix martial arts.
The highly anticipated teams include La Trinidad’s team A, Itogon and Bokod, all having former varsity players in their line up.
“It’s anybody’s ball game,” said Bokod mayor Thomas Wales, Jr. when asked on the chances of his team which is expected to be a favorite with six former players from the University of the Cordilleras, Saint Louis University and Cordillera Career Development College suiting up.
Young teams include Tuba which has most of the University of Baguio Red Robins team playing. All of them are from Camp 3 in said town.
And they could be rivalled by La Trinidad’s B team which has a mix of very young, high school, and middle aged players mostly from the municipal office.
Games are scheduled on the weekends and on Tuesday and Thursday as well as on Wednesday.
The elimination round is expected to be finished by the first week of November The top eight teams advance to the quarterfinals with the top seed facing the lowest seeded team and so on. The four higher placed squads get a twice to beat advantage.
The winners advance to the Final Four where the top and lowest seeds face each and the higher seed gets a twice to beat advantage.
The winners vie for the Cup in a best of three format.
Cash prizes are expected to be given to the winners and consolation prizes to the non-winning teams.
Individual awards will be given also after every game aa well as after the tournament where a most valuable player will be named and a first and second team who will form the Benguet all stars.
