CEBU, Philippines — The ninth edition of the Cong. Red Durano Cup basketball tournament kicks off tomorrow at the Danao City Civic Center with a heavy triple-header scheduled. The annual tournament is for the municipalities of the fifth district of Cebu, with eleven towns/teams confirmed to see action.
Seeing action tomorrow are Carmen which faces off against Tudela in the opening game. Borbon goes up against Pilar in the second game while host and defending champion Danao kicks off its title-defense against Poro.
Also slated to play in the tournament are Liloan, Compostela, Catmon, San Francisco and Sogod. An opening ceremony will be held before the games start with Cong. Red Durnao as special guest along with the different mayors and leaders of the participating teams.
Games will be played daily in the different municipalities of the fifth district from March 23 until mid-May. Danao is the defending champion and is favored to score back-to-back championships.
Last year’s runner-up San Francisco will be back to challenge Danao and seek to win back the title it won in 2017. The format sees all teams in one group playing a single round robin elimination or classification round. The top four teams qualify for the semifinals with the top-ranked team facing the fourth placed team and the second seed playing the third seed in the semifinals. The winners from the semifinals face off in a sudden death game for the championship.
Among those who have played in previous editions of the Cong. Durano Cup include the likes of Paul Desiderio, Allen Dimco and Kenny Rogers Rocacurva; and CESAFI Juniors players like Koko Tuadles and Justin Mondares. Most, if not all players, also play for their mother teams in the Governor’s Cup after their Durano Cup stints.