From left, Dondon Hontiveros, Rendell Senining, Froilan Mangubat, Shane Menina, and Fletcher Galvez. | Photos from Chase Tower Runs Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines—Dubbed Cebu’s “Drew League,” the Chase Tower Runs of Cebuano business mogul and social media influencer Chase Cokaliong will field a team for the first time in the upcoming Sinulog Cup 2024 Basketball Tournament, which will be held from January 23-27, 2024.
The Chase Tower Runs became popular as the meetup place for well-known current and former varsity and pro players for some top-notch pickup games at the Cokaliong Tower.
According to head coach Paul Joven, their pickup games started in the latter part of the Covid-19 pandemic with few players who were permitted to play during that time. It has grown bigger ever since.
“We’re a group of ex-varsity players and friends who have had a pickup game since the pandemic. Basketball club ra baya gyud ni, and first ni siya nga mo apil mi ug commercial tournament. Pero nag pa liga nami last December, pero exclusive,” said Joven, who is also the head coach of the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors in the Cesafi.
‘Drew League’ of Cebu
From a group of friends, the club has welcomed top-notch players from UAAP, MPBL, PSL, PBA, and Cesafi throughout the years and has grown more prominent in the local basketball scene.
Today, the ‘Chase Tower Runs’ is one of the coveted invitation-only basketball clubs and has been touted as the “Drew League” of Cebu because of its similar approach to the United States’ highly popular annual pro-am basketball league.
This time, the team will test their mettle against the more experienced commercial teams from Visayas and Mindanao in the Sinulog Cup 2024.
Despite being a newbie in a commercial tournament, the team looks promising with the inclusion of ‘Cebuano Hotshot’ Dondon Hontiveros, also a councilor of Cebu City.
Hontiveros earlier revealed that he will play for a team the same as last year’s Sinulog Cup despite being one of the organizers of the tournament.
“Dondon, at his age, he’s still competing at the highest level. His defense, which has been his signature throughout his career, is still there. You can’t leave that man open,” Joven said.
Hontiveros will lead a younger squad comprised of former PBA Draft hopefuls Shane Menina and Fletcher Galvez. They are joined by ex-pro Rendell Senining, Miguel Gastador, Mark Abadia, Jerome Napao, Edrian Lao, Mac Racho, Froiland Mangubat, Rey Mark Acuno, Frederick Pasturan, Mur Alao, Diego Ugarte, and Joshua Flores.
“We have a good chance of winning the title. I can say we have a 50/50 chance. We have a good set of players that I know very well. Familiarity of the players will be a factor for us,” Joven said.
Chase Tower Runs will compete in Group B along with Znars Jewelry-Marawi City, Cebu Roosevelt Memorial Colleges (CRMC) Mustangs, and the OCCCI Sheermasters.
/bmjo
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