After scoring a three-peat in the Cebu scene, the Lancers Ballclub carries the name and colors of Cebu for the third straight year at the Visayas Regional Finals of the Coca Cola PBA Youngstars Basketball Tournament, which takes place this weekend in Iloilo City.
Seeking a third straight Visayas title and a third straight trip to the national finals, the Lancers are considered as favorites owing to their domination of the games for the past three editions of the tournament.
They face Iloilo today, then Bacolod tomorrow in a simple round robin format among the three Visayas leg champions. A simple sweep of the two teams will guarantee a trip to the national finals.
Leading the pack are three-year Coca Cola PBA veterans Orlan Wamar Jr. and Joshua Flores. The duo will be supported by bull-strong Jifford Cahigas and a host of young up-and-coming players like Froiland Maglasang, Royce Alforque and John Igot.
The team is composed of three Under 16 players, one U15 player, five U14 players and three U13 players.The tournament format calls for three players for each age groups: U16, U15, U14 and U13.
The other members of the team include Mark Dumandan, Oseas Padilla, Joshua Canoy, Christian Dado, James Zenarosa and John Kirck Gonzaga.
All are part of the UV Under 15 team that recently won the CYBL’s Alaska Basketball Cup Cebu and placed second in the BEST SBP Passerelle tournament sponsored by Milo.
The winner of the Visayas Regional Finals qualifies for the national finals which will take place May 17-25 in Manila.