36 TEAMS VIE IN SINAG LIGA ASYA CAGEFEST

MANILA, Philippines — All roads led to Cagayan de Oro City as the Sinag Liga Asya sets the spotlight on a historic number of delegates here and abroad for the World Junior Showcase, much to the warmest of welcome by locals in Northern Mindanao.

A total of 36 teams got the ball rolling for the week-long tourney, championing diversity and Filipino pride at its fullest with representation from overseas, including the United States, Canada and United Arab Emirates.

And no less than the local squads led by host CDO welcomed them with open arms to not only showcase the Filipino brand of play but the world-renowned hospitality.

“It's the first international basketball tournament here in Mindanao and dito pa sa Cagayan de Oro,” said SLA chairman Rocky Chan, joined by Ray Alao as president, Chief Operating Officer Leo Isaac, Commissioner Rodney Santos, and Deputy Commissioners John Ferriols and EJ Feihl in the explosive opener.

“Overwhelming ang crowd with the full support of the local government. Actually, iyong mga taga-Cagayan nga nagsasabi sa akin na, you know, for quite a while, ngayon lang nila nakita ulit na punong-punong ang isang gym,” added Chan, also giving credits to the Department of Tourism and Senator Bong Go in making the breakthrough event possible.

The said teams, which also feature local bets from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao including host CDO, will have the 36 teams slugging it out in the 13, 15, 17, 19 at 21-under divisions.

One champion from each division will be crowned this weekend at the Xavier University Gym and University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines Gym. but for Chan, who’s a CDO pride himself, there’s more to it than achieving that sweet glory.

“Para sa akin, because I'm from Mindanao, I'm from Cagayan de Oro, it takes pride to host it as the chairman of the league and to have it here in my hometown,” he added.

Then there’s the bigger mission for the further development of the basketball from the grassroots level and up, especially outside Metro Manila.

“At the same time, we really want to develop iyong programa, na equal ang opportunity. They are of the same level, kahit sino puwedeng sumali, kahit sino puwedeng mag-compete. So, we give equal opportunity to bring everyone in a short tournament like this,” he said.

“Of course, we're trying to get more sponsors to come in and to help us. It's just so fulfilling that the DoT Region 10 has been coordinating with other regions now na suportahan ang SLA and hopefully we can gain more help, more sponsors, especially from different LGUs na suportahan ang SLA.”

2025-07-10T06:31:29Z