SBP Passerelle games kick off

The young ones take over the basketball scene as games of the 31st SBP Passerelle Basketball Tournament backed by Milo will kick off today at the Magis Eagles Arena of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu. A total of 13 teams comprise this year’s edition of one of the longest-running youthbased basketball tournaments in the country.

Leading the pack are the University of the Visayas, defending champion of the Small Basketeers Philippines (SBP) division and defending Passerelle division champion Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu.

Making up the SBP division are UV, USC, SHS-Ateneo de Cebu A, Don Bosco Technology Center, SWU-PHINMA and SHS-Ateneo B.

The Passerelle division is made up of SHS-Ateneo, USC, UV, USPF, SWU-PHINMA, DBTCI and rookie team Abellana National School. Abellana joins the league as part of the BEST Center’s outreach assistance program for public schools.

The SBP division is for players in the Under 12, 11 and 10 age groups, while the Passerelle division is for players in the Under 15, 14, and 13 age groups.

The Passerelle age group is one age group younger than the high school juniors level and is a main source of high school varsity players.

All teams are composed of five players each for every age group. Modified ground rules ensure that all players will see action for at least one quarter as each quarter requires a different set of five players for both teams.

The SBP Passerelle tournament sponsored by Milo is organized by the BEST Center Sports, the leading school for basketball in the country that was founded by Coach Nic Jorge, the pioneer in the country in the field of establishing basketball schools. The program has developed many of today’s biggest stars who once played and trained with the BEST Center.

Among them include Kiefer Ravena, Chris Tiu, Jeron Teng and Kobe Paras. Most of today’s players in the PBA, UAAP, NCAA and CESAFI once played in the SBP Passerelle tournaments when they were in their formative years.

The Cebu scene has produced national youth players like Paul Desiderio, Kris Porter, Koko Pingoy, Dave Yu, Jed Colonia, Leonard Santillan and JB Bahio.

The succeeding games of the Cebu tournament will be played every weekend and on holidays at the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu Mango Avenue campus and at host schools’ home courts.

The Cebu champion will qualify for the Visayas Regional Finals which will be held in Roxas City in November. The Visayas champion then plays in the SBP Passerelle National Finals which Bacolod will host in December.