CEBU, Philippines - It’s finals weekend of the Alaska Basketball D-League 2014 with the traditional age group strongholds University of San Carlos, University of the Visayas and Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu seeking championships in the different age groups/divisions at the Magis Eagles Arena on Sunday.
USC and UV square off in a battle of undefeated teams in the Under 10 Division with USC having the edge, having dominated the U10 age group for the past three years.
Meanwhile, UV is seeking its first ever title in the U10 division after its success in the Under 15 age group. The Under 12 Division 1 title match will be between favorite USC and SHS-AdC. USC is looking to score yet another title for the year, while SHS-AdC seeks to recover from its title drought.
The Under 15 Division 1 championship will be contested by SHS-AdC and UV in a rematch from last year’s CYBL D-League Finals. Odds are even for both sides which are also undefeated through the elimination round and semifinals. The Under 17 Division 1 championship already has SHS-AdC waiting for the winner of the semifinals game between UV and USC which will be played tomorrow.
In championship games of Division 2, UV-Mandaue and Salazar College of Sciences and Institute of Technology face off against each other in the Under 17 age group.
The Under 15 Division 2 title is between Southwestern University and rookie team Don Bosco Liloan. The Under 12 Division 2 semifinals will be played tomorrow with the championship game to be played also on Sunday. Ormoc faces St. Benedict Child Education Learning Centre, while UV-B goes up against Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion-Mandaue in the semifinals.
The Alaska Basketball D-League is a partnership between Alaska and the Cebu Youth Basketball League (CYBL). A total of 74 teams are seeing action, spread over four age groups for boys and one age group for girls. These are the Under 10, 12, 15 and 17 for boys and Girls Under 17. This is the third major tournament of the year for the partnership. The Alaska Basketball Cup Cebu was held January to March. This was followed by the CYBL-Alaska VISMIN Goodwill Games in May. (FREEMAN)