By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Fifteen schools are set to compete in the 1st United Negros Basketball League (UNBL) Aspirants Basketball Cup 2023, which will open this Saturday, February 4, at the Bacolod Tay Tung High School Covered Courts in Bacolod City.

According to UNBL President Jun Ballesteros, the tournament serves as a follow up to the Chairman’s Cup 17-under and 21-under tournaments held last August 2022, and the Open Tournament last December 2022.

“The main purpose of this tournament is to provide an avenue for all Bacolod teams to directly compete in a single tournament,” Ballesteros said.

“This is in line with the UNBL’s advocacy of grassroots development wherein it seeks to promote the continuous exposure of student athletes in the sport of basketball,” he added.

Among the participating schools are St. John’s Institute, Bacolod Tay Tung High School, University of St La Salle, La Consolacion College Bacolod, Trinity Christian School, and Colegio De San Agustin-Bacolod.

Also listed in the tournament were University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, St. Rose of Lima School, St. Joseph School-La Salle, Bacolod City National High School, Domingo Lacson National High School, Bata National High School, Luisa Medel National High School, SJI Team B, and BTTHS Team B.

“The 15 schools are to be divided into two brackets, and the teams will battle each other among their groups in a single-round robin format,” Ballesteros said.

The UNBL president added that it is still to be finalized if only the top two or the top four from each group are to advance into the playoff round.

He further said that all participants must be Grades 7 to 9 only and born in 2007 and later, and they must be enrolled with their respective schools.

The tournament organizers opted not to release the schedule of matches until today to ensure the presence of each team during the short opening ceremony./ASC, WDJ