Amazing Carmen Open basketball tourney blasts off Saturday

Some of Cebu’s top collegiate and commercial cagers will bring their act to the North as they showcase their hardcourt skills in the 1st Amazing Carmen Open Basketball Tournament 2024 set to kick off on Saturday, March 23, at the Carmen Sports and Activity Center.

A total of eight teams, including two from the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI), will be seeing action in the monthlong tilt organized by Carmen Vice Mayor Martin Gerard Villamor and municipal councilor Rashid Bejoc Tacocong, a former varsity player of the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers during his prime, in partnership with Juren Batucan of SG5, Aileen Sula Sula of Entersul Motor Parts and Accessories, and league commissioner Ronnie Mata.

These are the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars, Benedicto College Cheetahs, DPWH-7, CSVR, CTRG Lechon, DXC x L&G x Emmanuel, Beast Ballers, and AC Troopers/Eversure, the heavy favorites with Reed Juntilla, JR Quiñahan, Patrick Cabahug, and Tansiong Bonganciso at the helm of their title campaign.

Former college standouts JayJayson son Balabag, a two-time champion with the UV Lancers, and former CESAFI 3-point king Froilan Mangubat will suit up for the DXC side, the Beast Ballers will be led by Juk Juntilla and Rusty Aguilar, while the CTRG Lechon will count on Cameroonian Medo Tosh Sesay, Jestony Bacla-an, and Bernie Bregondo, a former CESAFI champion with the Southwestern University (SWU)Phinma Cobras.

On the other hand, the CSVR team will squeeze the most from Christian Rivera, Vince Oscar Albao, and Jonathan Vanguardia.

On opening day, Benedicto College, the best performer among the four league newcomers in last year’s CESAFI Season 23, will be tested immediately as the Cheetahs go up against the star-studded AC Troopers in the 7:00 p.m. curtain raiser.

The Cheetahs of coach BJ Murillo will count on Kenneth Babalcon, Den Orgong, and Nichole Cabañero.

In the main game at 8:30 p.m., the DPWH-7 ballers powered by Vyron Villanel and Richmond Bersabal will lock horns with CSVR bannered by Christian Rivera and Vince Oscar Albao.

With a total of P100,000 cash prize at stake, the contending squads will be play under a double elimination format wherein the teams with two losses will be eliminated right away.

The top two finishers will then figure in a best-of-three finals series.

The champion will take home P70,000, while the first runner-up will pocket P30,000.

The Amazing Carmen cage wars is the second major sports event that the town is staging since the highly successful Batang Pilipino Basketball League (BPBL) Season 2 Visayas Regional Finals last month. –