LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—More exciting games are underway as the 2nd edition of Governor’s Cup Inter-Town/City Basketball Tournament will conduct series of Wild Card match-ups starting this weekend (January 13 and 14).
In a meeting regarding the recent committee report and tournament updates on January 10, Pangasinan Sports Development and Management Council Executive Director Modesto M. Operania disclosed that the Wild Card games will be held to provide opportunity for other teams to catch-up with the top four contingents for each conference and possibly land a slot for the upcoming quarterfinals.
More games are expected to be witnessed by basketball aficionados in which local cagers aged 18 to 24 can display their potentials, Operania added.
It can be recalled that Gov. Amado I. Espino III launched the sports activity to open new doors of opportunity for local cagers to be discovered.
During the elimination rounds, 24-year oldcager CJ Perez, NCAA Season 93 Most Valuable Player (MVP), played for the Bautista team. However, the Bautista resident could no longer join the team in the quarterfinals as he was drafted in the PBA D-League and he is eyed to join the Gilas team for the 2023 FIBA World Cup to be hosted by the country.
Dr. Edilberto R. Abalos, Regional Director-SBP Region 1 and DEBRA Nat’l. President, explained that for each conference—Central, Western, Eastern and Northern—only four teams which are the top contingents in the eliminations have automatically advanced to the quarterfinals.
As such, single round robin from among the other teams that did not make it to the top four slots will be given which will place them on equal footing as the win-loss tally will be back to zero.
Based on the results of the elimination rounds, the following teams per conference have occupied the top four slots:
Eastern Conference Northern Conference
1. Tayug 1. Bautista
2. Urdaneta City 2. Manaoag
3. Balungao 3. Mangaldan
4. Umingan 4. Pozorrubio
Central Conference Western Conference
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- 1. Binmaley 1. Lingayen
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- 2. Calasiao 2. Sual
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- 3. Mangatarem 3. Alaminos City
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- 4. Bayambang 4. Bolinao
List of teams to vie for the wild card conference will be announced and posted at the official Facebook account of the province on January 13 along with the schedule of games. (Ruby R. Bernardino)