The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Sinag Liga Asya, the newest competitive basketball league, will open its doors starting July 24 to provide more opportunities for homegrown basketball players across the Philippines.
Spearheaded by chairman Rocky Chan, head of basketball operations for Visayas and Mindanao Paul Joven, chief operating officer Leo Isaac, and commissioner Salvador Cortez Jr., the Sinag Liga Asya aims to give more pathways for aspiring players to gain scholarships and play professional basketball.
“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.
The Visayas-Mindanao Leg of the SLA will get going at the Mandaue City Sports Complex in Cebu on July 24.
Set to see action in the tilt backed by tournament co-presented and powered by 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 are the Lapu-Lapu City Heroes, DH25 Cebu City, Minglanilla Archangels, and the City of Mandaue.
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.
“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.”
Chan also announced 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.