SLA chairman Rocky Chan (fifth from right) and SLA head of basketball operations Paul Joven (fourth from right).
SLA, new grassroots league, opens July 24
THERE’S a new and exciting basketball league in town.
And like all the other major leagues before it, Sinag Liga Asya hopes to provide more opportunities for homegrown basketball players all over the Philippines.
Sinag Liga Asya chairman Rocky Chan said the league will kick off at the Mandaue City Sports Complex in Cebu on July 24.
“We are going to give kids who have potential a platform to be discovered. With Sinag Liga Asya, we will not be focusing just on the Philippines, but we will have opportunities for these kids to be able to play internationally. It’s a new league, and an exciting one,” said Chan.
Chan will be joined in Sinag Liga Asya by head of basketball operations for Visayas and Mindanao Paul Joven, chief operating officer Leo Isaac, and commissioner Salvador Cortez Jr.
“Our vision here is for all the homegrown, unheralded talents who are not able to be seen to be able to play in primary destinations in the country,” said Joven.
“We’re here to develop players. We really want to develop young kids so they can be seen. I hope many teams will join us to benefit from this kind of avenue.”
Lapu-Lapu City Heroes, DH25 Cebu City, Minglanilla Archangels, and the City of Mandaue will see action in the Visayas- Mindanao leg of the event co-presented Converge, supported by Foton, SCD, j project, MDC, Hotel Sogo, Wcube Solutions Inc., Bluesky Advertising, Finn Cotton, with media partners Tiebreaker Times. Mytv Cebu, Dugout University, and Blast.
Meanwhile, the 12-team Luzon Leg will tip off on August 5 at the Tiaong Convention Center in Quezon Province.
Confirmed teams for the Luzon Leg are the Pampanga Delta, Hustle Pampanga Floridablanca, Luid One Kapampangan, Datzlav Javi Construction, LDG San Pedro, and Quezon 2nd District.
Clubs from Quezon City, Antipolo City, Parañaque City, and a commercial team are also set to join.
Chan also said that the Sinag Liga Asya is already in talks with stakeholders from Southeast Asia for a pocket tournament that will pit the league’s champion team against the region’s best, boosting the club basketball ecosystem in the region further.
