18 teams vie in MBL 2nd season

MANILA, Philippines — The Makabansa Basketball League unwraps its second season on Saturday with 18 teams, led by inaugural champion Senate, seeing action at the Meralco Orange Fit Basketball Court, Meralco Center Ortigas Ave., Pasig City.

The Senate Advocates, headed by co-skippers Senators Sonny Angara and Joel Villanueva, captured the crown last year for their beneficiaries – Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc. and the Manila East Safety Riders Association of Rizal, Inc.

The Philippine Star Troopers and the DENR Environmental Warriors finished second and third, respectively, last year. Another exciting, competitive year is expected in the league put up to promote health and wellness and at the same time foster camaraderie among participants from various government offices and private groups.

“Sports is important in nation-building with immense potential to resolve conflicts and create cohesiveness in society by promoting unity within a nation,” said MBL executive director Oscar “Jang” Moreno Jr. of Meralco. “The MBL, through sportsmanship, camaraderie, and healthy competition, aims to solidify partnerships in and among the public and private sectors to better serve the public.”

Aside from Senate and DENR, other teams participating are Office of the President, House of Representatives, Office of the Ombudsman, Office of the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Judiciary, Philippine National Police, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Commission on Elections, Philippine Sportswriters Association, Department of Energy, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, Manila Electric Company, North Luzon Expressway Corp. and SMART Communications, Inc.

Cash and other prizes at stake will be donated to the chosen beneficiaries of the winning squads. The field will be divided into three brackets.

The tournament will have a single round-robin format with the top four from each group to advance to the playoffs – Round of 12 then Round of six with the surviving three teams to clash in a single round semis. The top two will dispute the crown in a best-of-three affair.

Two games will be held every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. while three matches are on tap on Saturdays and Sundays at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Sponsors of the league are the MVP Sports Foundation, Inc., Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Kings of the Court Sports Organizing Services, Inc., Jersey Haven, Coca-Cola and ANC+ Group of Companies.

UAAP executive director Atty. Rebo Saguisag is commissioner.

For results and updates, follow the MBL Social Media pages facebook.com/makabansabasketballleague; IG: @MakabansaBasketball; Twitter: @MakabansaBball