The 1st Alhokair Filipino Basketball Association (AFBA) Inter-Color Basketball Tournament is set to roll on Friday at the Al Yamama Hotel basketball court on Old Airport Road here.

Tournament Commissioner Rizaldy Datu confirmed the participation of 10 teams from different brands and departments and the players were randomly distributed to each team to serve the league purpose of building camaraderie and friendship among Alhokair employees.

Red team leads this season’s entries with Blue, White, Violet, Maroon, Yellow, Orange, Black, Green and Gray team completing the list.

Expected special guests to grace the opening ceremony are Arnold dela Cruz, Joseph Gonzales and Art Basilio Capulong. Because of the nature of the work of Alhokair employees the event will have an unusual start at 1 a.m. with the parade of teams followed by the opening games to be determined in a draw.

Former Angeles University varsity player Michael Calma, now playing for White team, will lead the oath of sportsmanship while Joseph Gonzales will do the ceremonial toss of the ball. The elimination round will be played single round robin for brackets A & B. Top two of each bracket will advance to the semifinal round and will play a single round robin. The final round will be contested on a knock-out game by the top two teams for the title while the last two teams play a knockout game of third and fourth place. Regular games will be played every Friday from 1 a.m.

With Datu in the Executive Committee are Ramil Salido, event/program coordinator; Christian Ian Duenas, secretary general; Larry Berdon, Food and Audit; Joel Gervacio, Public Relations officer; Sherwin Padilla, treasurer, and Ronnel Beldad Team Relations officer. Other officials include Benjie Sapasap, Norman Canas, Ryan Evangelista, Darwin Baluyot and Ryan Villegas. The Filipino Confederation of Basketball Referees (FCBR) headed by Ernie Dela Cruz and Ed Khalid Tamayo is in charge of the tournament officiating.

The sponsors and supporters of this tournament include Arnold dela Cruz of Flash Cargo & Remittances, Joseph Gonzales of Electro and Art Basilio Capulong of SABB.