BERKELEY School seeks another trip to the regional finals while St. Louis University-Laboratory High School will have their hands full as they open their title retention bid in the Baguio leg of the BEST Center Twin Tournament which open's September 1 at the Easter College Gym.
SLU-LHS seeks its fourth straight title in the passerelle division while Berkeley will gun for its sixth straight crown in the SBP division of the Milo backed tournament organized by the Basketball Efficiency Scientific Training (BEST) Center, the Philippines’ premiere basketball and volleyball school that utilizes scientific approach in teaching sports.
For more than 30 years, the SBP/Passerelle Twin Tournament provides an avenue for young cagers to apply what they learned from basketball trainings and showcase their skills in the court.
A banner of 10 squads will see action in the paserrelle division with defending champion SLU-LHS competing in bracket A with the University of the Cordilleras High School Saint Louis College–La Union B, Saint Louis School Center, and the University of Baguio Science High.
Bracket B will field Berkeley, last year’s runner–up SLC-LU A, SLU-LHS B, Baguio City High School and Baguio Patriotic High School.
In the SBP division, out to stop Berkeley's four year reign in Bracket A are SLC-LU, Lucban Elementary School, Pugius Elementary School, and Mabini Elementary School.
Seeking to dislodge Berkeley in Bracket B are UC Grade School, SLU Laboratory Elementary School, SLSC, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Montessori and University of Baguio.
Aside from the Baguio games, elimination matches will also be held in other areas of Luzon, the National Capital Region, Visayas and Mindanao to determine which teams will qualify for the regional championships.
Top teams from each region will battle it out in the national finals.
The tournament features unique rules wherein a team must field a new set of five players for each for the first three periods and the coach may then play any combination he wishes for the final canto, thus guaranteeing each player a minimum of 10 minutes of court time.
SBP is for players aged nine to 11 while passerelle is for 12 to 14 year old and was conceived in order to act as a bridge between the SBP and the Juniors Division for players 18 and under.
The tournament is also a perfect opportunity for MILO BEST Center students to apply what they have learned during the summer sports clinic founded by Coach Nic Jorge. (Roderick Osis)