TRUST me. Basketball is the Filipinos’ national pastime. Even at the barangay level, avid hoops fans would merrily come to witness the games held on a makeshift court or in a playground.
With an atmosphere that is best described as festive, every Tom, Dick and Harry in sight would share stories of the acrobatic acts they have just seen from the roundballers.
And for the ladies in red like Mary, Amy and Susie (did I miss out on anyone?), it’s worth the time to ogle at the muscle-bound men in shorts plying their trade and perhaps with a wink, get their attention off the court.
This Hoopster personally witnessed the opening ceremonies of the Quezon City and Manila segments and was impressed with the attendance at their respective barangay courts.
Of course, the crowd numbers were bolstered by the gift prizes through a raffle held by the officials of Trust BBall (Barangay Basketball League) and members of the marketing agency of Trust/DKT Health Inc.
The grassroots-level tournament, which began on March 8, has drawn the support of seven Metro Manila cities – Caloocan, Makati, Manila, Marikina, Pasig, Quezon City and Valenzuela – and is endorsed by the Barangay chairmen and Barangay Health Clinics in their respective localities.
From four pre-selected barangays in each of the seven cities have come more than 300 young male athletes aged 18 to 25.
The Barangay champions from the seven Metro Manila cities have been determined.
The winners are Barangay Sta. Lucia (Quezon City), Barangay 1 (Caloocan City), Barangay 704 (Manila), Barangay Valenzuela (Makati), Barangay Gen. T. De Leon (Valenzuela), Barangay Nangka (Marikina) and Barangay Manggahan (Pasig).
The Barangay winners are representing their city of origin in the Trust BBall Inter-City tournament, which unwrapped last April 26 at the Barangay Parang Gym in Marikina City.
Last April 26, also at the Barangay Parang covered courts, the seven barangay Lords of the Ring were feated during a Grand Awarding ceremony.
The champions and second-placers from the seven inter-barangay competitions were awarded their trophies, medals and cash prizes.
Additionally, the Mythical Five and Most Valuable Player awardee in each barangay meet were honored. With the inter-barangay wars over, Trust BBall has upped the stakes with the staging of the Inter-City basketball tournament to determine the overall champion in the highly-successful 1st Trust BBall competitions.
The seven all-star barangay titlists will play against each other in a single round-robin format for the bragging rights to the title of Champion among Champions
Opened to the public, amiable Trust BBall organizers also included other activities such as seminars and fun games for the participants and guests during Saturday’s program.
Then there also was the surprise appearance of basketball-playing actors in an exhibition match.Trust BBall seeks to promote camaraderie among the young athletes in every participating barangay.
It also aims to develop awareness among the youth in health productive issues such as but not limited to family planning, protection against sexually-transmitted infections with the use of safe, reliable and affordable methods.
For more information on Trust BBall, you can check out the Trust Condoms Facebook page. Ariel Rivera and Gelli de Belen will be elated if you do.
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