WPBL 16th Conference Basketball Tournament opens

The Ahmed Khaki Sports Complex (Orca) basketball court throbbed back to life Friday last week with the grand opening of the all new WPBL 16th Conference Basketball Tournament.
Teams paraded in their resplendent uniforms and some with their muses to highlight the opening ceremony in which Alejandro Inza Cruz, officer in charge at POLO (Philippine Overseas Labor Office) western region, was the chief guest.
In his speech Cruz underlined the role of OFWs as ambassadors of goodwill to the Kingdom and at the same time praised them for their qualities that make the Filipinos stand out in the global labor market.
Western Province Basketball League Commissioner Frank James Roxas, taking over the helm of the group that returns to the scene after a gap of five months and with a catch phrase “Bigger! Better! Bolder!”, welcomed the everyone and promised to deliver on WPBL’s mandate of providing quality basketball entertainment. He then declared the tournament open.
Also in attendance on opening day were WPBL consultant-adviser Mohamed Bayoumi, friend of the Filipino community and recipient of Presidential Banaag Award, and adviser Hamdan Al-Harithy.
The duo El Divo rendered song numbers to entertain the crowd that came in large numbers despite the muggy weather.
The first trophies to go up for grabs went to Amana, Petromin, Lanao Lakers and Moulinex for Best Team in Uniform and to Lanao Lakers, Unidecor, Amana and Nexus for Best Muse.
Notching their first victories in the tournament were Nesma over Amana and Sultanate Masiu over Binladen Inspectors.
The tournament is divided into five divisions including the 13-team King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital (KFAFH) Inter-Department, Inter-Company Bonafide and Inter-Muslim Division. Inter-Commercial Open Rated Division and Inter-Commercial Non-Rated are also featured.
Shadow Lounge entered two teams in the competition. The other teams are: Lanao Lakers, Marogong-Facebook, Wasalak-Lakay, Marogong-Awnak, Moulinex, Unidécor Dynamics, Petromin, Saudia City, Delta Water, New Breed, B. J. All Star, Ate Aida Catering, Friendi Mobile, Computer Diagnostics-MOHAP, Sultanate-Masiu, Saudi Binladin Group, Panda-Breman, Nexus, Al Zafer Cargo, Amana, Duke Papahammadi, Nesma, BTC-Bandar Telecommunication Co. and Ramada Continental Jedah.
Roxas said Friendi Mobile through Jhun Abris has come on board as the major sponsor of the tournament, which again has tapped the services Jun Lansang’s Basketball Officials Group (BOG) to handle the officiating.