By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Ten players who trace their roots from Negros are rostered in the 2024 PBA Governors’ Cup, which will kick off this Sunday, August 18, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Among the 10 Negrense players in the opening day lineup, seven came from Negros Occidental, two others came from Bacolod City, and another one from Negros Oriental.

The Blackwater Bossing has the greatest number of Negrense players with four, in Bacolodnons Kib Montalbo and Justin Chua, Silaynon Miguel Corteza, and Escalante City-native James Yap.

On the other hand, the Meralco Bolts still has Negros Occidental’s Pontevedra-native Raymar Jose, while Bago City-native Raul Soyud remains part of the Phoenix Fuel Masters lineup.

The TNT Tropang Giga retained the services of Negros Occidental’s Manapla-native guard Paul Varilla, while the NLEX Road Warriors kept Hinigaran-native Jhan Nermal.

La Carlota City-native Mark Nonoy is part of the Terrafirma Dyip’s reserve list, same with Dumaguete City’s Jerom Lastimosa at the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots.

There are some notable Negrense players who were not rostered in Bacolod City’s Jeffrei Chan and Siverino Baclao, and Negros Occidental’s Silay City-native John Paul Calvo.

PBA Season 49 will kick off with a matchup between the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots and the Bolts on Sunday night, after the PBA Season 48 Leo Awards./ASC, WDJ