LGR welcomes weekend warriors

Recreational leagues for weekend warriors are trending in Metro Manila and sportswear brand LGR has joined the basketball bandwagon with a tournament aimed at gathering ballers who dream of playing like their idols in the pros.

LGR executive vice president Rhayan Cruz said yesterday the idea behind organizing the LGR Hoops Showcase is to provide hoop junkies with the experience of competition on a level playing field. “Filipinos love basketball,” he said. “We’re giving weekend warriors and competitive players another stage where they can play. The market for recreational basketball is growing and we’re here to address that demand. For some players, this could be the highlight of their careers. We want to give them that experience, from competing against players on the same level to having the spotlight on them with photos and highlights. We will try to give them a unique experience through our league.”

The Showcase got off to a rousing start with a doubleheader at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan last Sunday. PBA courtside reporter Apple David hosted the opening ceremony. Five NLEX players attended as special guests. They were Pamboy Raymundo, Jeckster Apinan, Jansen Rios, Eric Camson and Harold Arboleda. The Road Warriors wear LGR jerseys in the PBA. Others who graced the event included model Mimai Ong, Andre Felix, Daisy de Vera and SBP deputy executive director for domestic affairs Bernie Atienza.

Cruz said 30 teams are seeing action in the Showcase, 20 in the novice division and 10 in the expert division. Games will be played only on weekends at the Cloverleaf Gym in Makati or the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila. The venues will be used on an alternating basis.

The Showcase will run until May. Pros aren’t allowed to join so that excludes veterans from the PBA, PBA D-League and the ABL. The novice division has a height limit of six feet and players with varsity or pro experience are disqualified. In the expert division, the height limit is 6-4 and varsity players may join for as long as their last playing year was in 2009.

Among the former collegiate players in the expert division are La Salle’s P. J. Barua and University of the Visayas’ Chris Diputado, both with DBT United, and St. Benilde’s Chuck Dalanon and Arellano’s Daniel Martinez, both of Macway Travel Club. DBT United and Macway are two of 10 teams in the expert division. The others are Nougat Candy Bars, Zarks Burger, SSI Metals, Petiks Express, Royal MNL, Slicktight Pomade Spartans, Wednesday Adgrande Basketball and De Ocampo Memorial College.

The expert division features a single round robin elimination with the top two qualifying outright to the semifinals and No. 3 playing No. 6 and No. 4 playing No. 5 in the knockout quarterfinals. The semifinals and final are knockout games. The novice division of 20 teams is split into two groups of 10. After a single round elimination, the top four in each group advance to the quarterfinals. Winners play off in the knockout semifinals and survivors will meet in the knockout final. The first group is made up of Ybalai Builders, Nike Park, Wolverine Vanguards, Friday Night Phalanx, Sunday Basketball Club, XJJ, 19 th Ballers, Team Kuys, Café Ben A Bien and Highlink. The second group is composed of Nougat Candy Bars, Agentsync, Rise, Datwyler, United, Petiks Express, CET AlumKnights, Wednesday Adgrande Basketball, Team Prima and Vanguards.

Cruz said prizes to be given out are gift certificates from Zarks Burger, Nike Park and Kenny Rogers Restaurant. “Our stats crew has experience in corporate leagues,” he said. “We maintain a Facebook page LGR Hoops and we’re working on building our own website but for now, we’ll post results and stats on our Facebook page.”

The Showcase commissioners are Ariel Serrantes and Eric Uy. Serrantes was the commissioner of the Manila Ballers League in the first, second, fourth and fifth seasons while Uy has been the commissioner of the Invitational Friendship Basketball League since 2010.

In last Sunday’s inaugural games, Team Kuys beat XJJ, 71-69, behind Jun Salazar’s 28 points and Ybalai downed Nike Park, 79-87 with Collins Cardenas compiling 37 points and 29 rebounds.

LGR started in 1988 as a family business managed by Cruz’ mother Sonia. It was Cruz’ father Honorato, a former La Salle varsity player during the Kurt Bachmann era, who thought of setting up a company to supply school and sports uniforms. But his father died at an early age and never saw his dream come true. Cruz was only in Grade 1 when his father passed away. His mother, however, was determined to pursue what his father visualized. Soon after, LGR was established with Cruz’ mother using the initials of her three sons Lucky, Gary and Rhayan to name the company. Today, Cruz and a sister Eunice are on top of LGR with their mother a consultant. Cruz is in charge of marketing and production while his sister takes care of finance.

It was in 2011 when LGR surfaced as a sportswear sponsor of a PBA team, Barako Bull. LGR actually began supplying uniforms to PBA teams in 2003 on a “toll” basis for other sportswear brands. At the moment, NLEX sports LGR jerseys in the PBA. LGR provides kits for the Azkals and 80 percent of the UFL teams. And it continues to provide custom-made uniforms for other brands. What makes LGR a high quality brand itself is its fabric is sourced abroad and comes from the same stock used by international names. LGR is proudly Filipino-owned with sewing plants in Manila and Bacoor. It won’t be long now before LGR becomes a major international player.