BASKETBALL at the grassroots’ level will be the thrust of the 1st Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League when it opens on Sept. 23.
Organizers of the tournament said this will provide opportunities to basketball players who never had an opportunity to play at the collegiate and professional level.
“Ito ay pagbibigay suporta sa mga kababayan nating mahilig sa basketball. From the grassroots’ level, we are supporting them,” said Senator Manny Paquiao, the founding father of the tournament.
Pacquiao, who spoke during the launch at the Aristocrat Restaurant in Malate, Manila, on Tuesday, drew inspiration in the formation of the league from a tournament he formed many years ago.
Around 12 teams are initially seeing action in the cagefest, which will have a home-and-away format.
These includes squads from Bulacan, Pampanga, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon City, Marikina, San Juan, Makati, Paranaque, Manila and Malabon.
There will be five conferences which will be held, starting with the Rajah Cup in Mindanao, the Datu Cup in Luzon and the Lakan Cup in the Visayas.
Then, there’s the Mumbaki Cup in the Ifugao region, and the Urduja Cup in Pangasinan.
The Rajah Cup will have a top prize of P600,000, while the Datu Cup’s major purse is P700,000.
The champion of the Lakan Cup is P800,000, while the top team in the Mumbaki Cup earns P900,000.
A whopping P1 million will go to the winner of the Urduja Cup.
The tournament is expected to give battle-ready streetballers a chance to follow the footsteps of their local basketball heroes.