MANILA — Three Filipino squads will try to steal the show from seven other Southeast Asian teams that will compete in the Filbasket International Championship next week in Kuala Lumpur.
The BGC Builders, Pilipinas Aguilas, and the Makabayan Warriors will be the Philippines’ representatives to the said event, where they will face three clubs from host country Malaysia, two from Indonesia, another from Singapore, and one more from Brunei.
Filbasket founder Jai Reyes confirmed during the online press conference on Thursday night that Maurice Shaw, the second overall pick of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Draft, will suit up for Makabayan.
Headlining the teams that will defend their homecourt at the MABA Stadium in the Malaysian capital are the Kuala Lumpur Aseel, which saw action in the Filbasket Summer Championship and even reached the quarterfinals.
Also representing Malaysia for the Filbasket International Championship are Harimau Malaysia and MBC Basketball Club.
The other teams competing are Adroit Sports Association of Singapore, Bumi Borneo and Elang Pacific Caesar of Indonesia, and Pegasus Brunei.
“We want Filbasket to have a truly international flavor. Over the summer we saw how KL Aseel really made a great impact on our league. Now with the addition of the other countries we expect a really fun and competitive week for basketball fans from all over Southeast Asia,” Reyes said.
Pilipinas and BGC have been placed in Group A with Bumi Borneo, Harimau, and Adroit.
The other group, Group B, consist of Makabayan, Pegasus Brunei, Kuala Lumpur, MBC, and Elang.
The 10 teams will play in a single round-robin elimination round within their respective groups from Oct 23-27.
The top two teams from each group after the group stage will qualify for the Oct. 29 crossover semifinals, where the winners will collide in the one-game final on Oct. 30.
All games will be streamed live on the Filbasket social media pages. (PNA)
