UNTV Cup II: One more round

One good round deserves another and if more teams want to join, then why not?

The second UNTV Cup basketball tournament involving government and public service teams unfolds at Smart Araneta Coliseum Tuesday.

The first edition was played with passion and gusto by teams beefed up by former pro and amateur cagers and a sprinkling of movie stars. Eight squads from the Judiciary, Armed Forces, Philippine National Police, Department of Justice, Philhealth, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and a combined Congress and local government team participated. The Judiciary, anchored by former pro Don Camaso who could still nail the long bombs, went on to win the title.

And now, teams from the Senate and Malacañang are set to join. As of late, the Congress and local government teams will field separate rosters for this edition, bringing the field to 10.

As in the first tournament, the top four finishers will get to present to selected charities cash prizes offered by organizers. Last year, fourth placer Philhealth gave its prize to the Cancer Warriors Foundation, third placer AFP chose the AFP Educational Benefit System Office, runner-up PNP picked the Masonic Charities for Crippled Children while champion Judiciary donated its P1 million prize to the Earthquake Victims of Cebu and Bohol and the Standoff Victims of Zamboanga.

The tournament was envisioned to create opportunities for government units to get to know each other in a different milieu. And it looks like that attempt at networking will take on a different look in the second edition.

In one of the coaches’ meetings presided over by league commissioner Atoy Co and his deputy Ed Cordero, Philhealth coach Delio Aseron suggested that game days could be opportunities for the teams to put up people desks where ordinary folk can come to follow up on various concerns. So if someone wanted to follow up on a Philhealth application or a pending case, the corresponding desk could attend to it.

The suggestion was welcomed wholeheartedly by UNTV vice president for administration Gerry Panghulan and will be implemented in the second tournament.

Many of the games in the first tournament were played with a relatively high level of skill.  The presence of former PBA and PBL players definitely boosts the stock of the league but since most Filipino males have played in some form of organized ball, the skills displayed are just as thrilling as in any league.

Some players in fact played in provincial leagues but never had a chance to try out for the big time. The UNTV Cup has given many of them a chance to still play while remaining as soldiers, policemen, clerks, community organizers and even elected officials.