The ANS girls basketball team pose for a group photo during their campaign in the BPBL regional finals. | Photo from BPBL Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Cebu City’s girls basketball team is gearing up for the biggest tournament they will be competing in so far.
The team from the Abellana National School (ANS) Sports Program will be vying in the Batang Pilipino Basketball League (BPBL) Grand Finals slated from January 26-29, 2022, in Manila.
The team will be one of the representatives of Region VII along with the boys team of Sambag 2 Future Basketball Academy of Leode Garcia, the head coach of the City of Bogo Science and Arts Academy (CBSAA) in the Cesafi high school basketball.
Cebu City will go up against 22 other teams from other regions in the country who are going for the whopping P300,000 champion’s purse.
“Representing Cebu City is a big honor for us. We are all excited to go to Manila,” said head coach Darwin Dinoy.
Dinoy revealed that ANS’s sports program has already produced top-caliber female cagers who are now in various leagues in the country such as UAAP.
His team, meanwhile, will be led by Daniella Alterado and Maxim Magbanua, who are veterans in various competitions.
Magbanua and Alterado have competed in the SBP 3×3 national finals in the past. They also played for Cebu City in Batang Pinoy national finals.
The rest of the team is comprised of Christine Agbay, Arwien Aventurado, Jessha Banquil, Althea Degamo, Maria Nadine Labay, Keanna Shandy Estomago, Alaiza Maureen Evangelio, Lourien Navarro, Jasmine Reyes, Zaydhen Rosano, Winona Tabada, Jesrica Tenebro, and Danice Ycot.
“We formed this team back in April because DepEd announced that there was going to be a bubble tournament for Palarong Pambansa, but it was scrapped eventually. We almost lost hope that time because we already sacrificed a lot in training. Fortunately, BPBL came, so we grabbed the chance to compete, and here we are now, representing Cebu City for the grand finals,” said Dinoy.
Dinoy’s girls went unbeaten in their campaign in the BPBL regional finals held earlier this year. They defeated Cebu Province selection in the championship.
EARLY PREPARATION
Dinoy thanked Cebu City councilor Dondon Hontiveros for providing them the Cebu City Sports Institute in Barangay Sawang Calero as their official training venue heading into the January grand finals.
Dinoy is confident that his team has a huge chance of winning the title because of their dedicated training program.
“ANS’s sports program allows us to train two hours a day, so we’ve been training for quite a while already for the grand finals. Our preparation will be our key of winning the title,” added Dinoy.
For his part, BPBL commissioner, Ron Camara expects top-notch hardcourt action in the grand finals.
“This is the first time that we will have a national basketball tournament featuring the best region-based teams. Everyone can watch and enjoy the games since entrance will be free of charge. Expect an all out performance by the teams, ibibigay talaga ng mga players yung best nila kasi they will get scouted and they will get a chance to land a scholarship with the biggest universities and colleges in Manila,” Camara said.
Camara added that the venue and the format of the grand finals will be announced soon.
/bmjo
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