Ateneo, Lyceum banner SMART City Hoops’ first seniors tournament

UAAP champion Ateneo and NCAA runner-up Lyceum lead the cast in the first ever seniors division of the 2018 SMART City Hoops Summer Classic.

Six teams will joust in the 25-under division, set to open on April 14 at Greenhills West, with UAAP contenders UP and FEU, as well as NCAA counterparts Letran and St. Benilde also joining the fray.

“We decided to open the 25-Under division this year because the schools have been clamoring for an invitational tournament that will be held in a high-quality facility that is well-organized and has good competition,” said City Hoops founder Homer Bautista.

The tournament will be played in a single-round robin format, with the top team advancing outright to the Finals.

The second-ranked team will then face the five seed in the knockout phase, with the other series going between the three-seed and four-seed teams. Winners of the said games will progress in the do-or-die semifinal game.

“Hopefully, by next year we can increase the number of teams as we look to give the schools and their student-athletes an experience like never before,” said Bautista.

As in the past iterations of SMART City Hoops, six other age-group divisions will be played, namely 19-Under, 17-Under, 15-Under, 13-Under, 12-Under, and 10-Under tourneys.

Xavier School, La Salle Green Hills, San Beda-Alabang, JRU, San Sebastian, Claret School, Elizabeth Seton, and Don Bosco-Makati will all parade teams in the lower-division tournaments. Randolph B. Leongson