Pilots strut wares in three-day basketball tournament
Players from Airlines Pilots Association-Singapore and Philippine Airlines will compete in the upcoming 1st Asian Pilots Invitational Basketball Tournament on Jan. 14-16 in Taguig City. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
FROM the cockpit to the hardcourt.
Airline pilots will lace up their sneakers and put their jerseys on for the First Asian Pilots Invitational Basketball Tournament set to open on January 14 at the Treston International College in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Five teams will vie for the championship crown in the tournament hosted by the Airlines Pilots Association-Singapore (ALPA-S).
The tournament will be supervised by league commissioner Ed Cordero and PBA legend Ramon “El Presidente” Fernandez, who will serve as tournament director.
Competing in the three-day competition are the ALPA-S, Cebu Pac, Thai-PA, Philippine Airlines and Air Asia.
The tournament will follow a single round robin format in the elimination phase. The top two teams after the eliminations will fight for the championship, while the number three and four squads will play for third place.
A three-point shootout will be held as a side event before the championship game on January 16.
“It is our intention that we could continue this tournament through the years for future generations of pilots. We feel it is a brilliant way to foster and establish friendship and camaraderie amongst pilots from around the region,” said Capt. Julio “Yeng” P. Rosales II of Singapore Airlines (SIA).
Rosales said there has always been keen interest for the sport among the SIA Group whose staff from its subsidiaries play basketball every Wednesday and Thursday at the SIA Sports Club.
SIA took its passion for basketball to another level when it formed a group called the Wingers, which is composed of 50 pilots.
Backed by ALPA-S, the group held weekly games in local communities as well as at the OCBC Indoor Arena at the Singapore Sports Hub, the home court of the Asean Basketball League’s Singapore Slingers.
Rosales said in 2013, Capt. Tan In Soon, the group’s organizer/coordinator, came up with the idea of holding friendly games in Manila against other airlines.
The event was participated by pilots from SIA, PAL, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia Philippines.
Rosales said more friendly games followed until “the idea came about to start a more formal tournament.
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