Monday, October 13, 2008 Friendship Cup opens with a bang By Roderick Osis
UNDOUBTEDLY, the Friendship Cup Basketball Invitational Tournament now holds the largest gathering of amateur basketball tournament north of Manila as it opened its 19th conference for the 10-year-old tournament.
Seventy-four teams will be seeing action in the largest pool so far, pitting some of the top basketball teams in Baguio and Benguet.
"Friendship Cup is not only an avenue for basketball players to hone their skills but also an avenue for players to develop camaraderie and friendship," said Mike Perez, who gave an inspirational message to the more than 1,000 amateur ball players in the city and Benguet.
Perez added that during their stint in the Friendship Cup when he was still coaching Tea House, he never thought of any other goal but to win the championship and had never set his sight on the most coveted award in the tournament, the Friendship Trophy.
Winning the friendship trophy has now become the goal of most teams, who have joined the league that epitomizes the real essence of the tournament, inculcating friendship among teams and team members participating in the basketball tournament.
From its humble beginning in 1998 with only eight teams seeing action in the first year of its existence, the Friendship Cup has slowly grew into a sport spectacle attracting amateur players not only in Baguio and Benguet but also in nearby provinces such as La Union, Pangasinan, and Ilocos.
The Friendship Cup was conceptualized by members of the Saint Louis University (SLU) Boys High Batch 1980 to bring a competitive level of amateur basketball in the city, with Philippine National Bank winning the first season of the tournament joined by Department of Trade and Industry, Texas Instruments, Bats 80, Tea House.
Another side event for the Friendship Cup is the annual selection of Ms. Friendship Cup chosen from the pool of muses by the various teams participating in the tournament. The selected Ms. Friendship Cup is given the honor to do the ceremonial toss in the opening game.
Beneco, which recently topped bracket A of the Baguio Centennial Cup, will have its hands full against Star Info Net and the UC Jaguars will see action in the three team Open Division.
JVG Dental center on the other hand who placed second to Beneco will pace bracket A of the tournament with Tea House, RSQ Warriors, Dangwa Driblers, Curamed and Baguio College of Technology completing the cast.
There will two divisions in brackets D, E, and F while brackets C and the 40-above will only have one division each.
Unlike the Baguio-Benguet Educational Athletic League, which pits Baguio and Benguet's colleges and universities, the Friendship Cup pits some establishments and other groups who are avid supporters of the greatest ballgame in the Philippines.
