THE 23RD season of the Sacred Heart Ateneo Alumni Basketball Athletic Association (SHAABAA) tips off on July 29 at the Magis Eagles Arena inside the Ateneo de Cebu campus in Canduman, Mandaue City.
Twenty-five teams spread across three divisions are set to compete in the annual tournament that seeks to promote fitness, competition and camaraderie amongst previous students of the esteemed academic institution.
“I hope for more camaraderie and friendship amongst alumni from the different batches. More than anything, this is what the league stands for: to promote solidarity through healthy competition. I also hope the participants will not forget to just enjoy the game and have fun doing so,” said SHAABAA President Clement Gothong.
This season, all teams have been divided according to batches.
Division A now has nine teams. These are batches 1989, 90, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97 and 98. Division B will have batches 2000, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06 and 07. Division C is composed of batches 2008, 09, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Teams in each division will play a single round-robin with the top two finishers gaining outright spots in the semifinals. Seeds 3 and 4 will have a twice-to-beat advantage over seeds 6 and 5, respectively.
The crossover semis will be a best-of-three affair, as will be the finals. The third place game will be a knockout encounter.
Games will be played every Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Canduman, and Wednesdays, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Ateneo de Cebu basketball courts along Mango Avenue. The tournament commissioner is Rafson Chua.