SK inter-barangay summer league kicks off

Saturday, April 23, 2011

THE Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Inter-Barangay Summer League Basketball Tournament 2011 reels off Sunday, with 12 basketball teams from Zamboanga City's west and east coasts seeing action.

The kick-off ceremony, to be led by SK Federation president Joanna Mari Mas, will be held at 8 a.m. at a gymnasium in the village of Ayala.

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Opening the game will be the basketball team from Barangay Recodo against Barangay Ayala. The match will be followed by the team from the farming village of La Paz against that of Sinubong, also a farming village.

The teams from Recodo, Ayala, La Paz and Sinubong are among the five basketball teams in the Cluster-G (west coast).

The fifth team in the Cluster-G is from Pamucutan, which is also a farming village.

At 10 a.m., the first game in the Cluster-F (Far East) will kick off, with the team from the village of Vitali playing against Tictapul village.

The second game in the Cluster-F will be between Bolong and Panubigan; third game, Sangali versus Bungiao; and fourth game, Limaong versus Lamisahan.

Mas said 43 basketball teams of 18 years old and below have registered in the SK Inter-Barangay Summer League.

He said the 43 teams were divided into seven clusters, namely: A (Central), five teams; B (East Central), seven teams; C (West Central), seven teams; D (Solid North), six teams; E (Near East), five teams; F (Far East), eight teams; and, G (West Coast), five teams.

In each of the clusters, the teams are classified into Groups A and B, wherein the teams in Group A will be playing against each other in a single round robin format, while those in Group B will play following a knock-out game format.

The winner in Group A will play against the winner in Group B in a knock-out game and whoever wins will represent a particular cluster in the championship round.

Mas said the summer basketball league for the youths is aimed to discover talents from the grassroots.

"Who knows they will be one of those basketball players that will see some day in the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) and NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association)," Mas said, as he noted there are several Zamboangueños playing in the two athletic competitions.

"They may even end up playing in the pro-league, which is the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association)," he said, adding there are also Zamboangueños playing in the PBA.

Mas said the Summer League is one of the projects that her office has lined up for the youths in Zamboanga City. (Bong Garcia)