Push Admin

Upstart league FilBasket look to provide opportunities for Pinoy players

Article (news)

Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Jai Reyes, who last played for the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in the MPBL, founded FilBasket to help local players who lost their jobs during the pandemic. Handout photo." src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/sports/09/28/jai-reyes.jpg"/><figcaption>Jai Reyes, who last played for the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in the MPBL, founded FilBasket to help local players who lost their jobs during the pandemic. <em>Handout photo.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>MANILA, Philippines -- FilBasket, an upstart league founded by former Ateneo de Manila University star Jai Reyes, is nearing the start of its inaugural tournament after securing the Splendido Taal Country Club as the location of its &quot;bubble.&quot;</p><p>Eleven teams will compete in the month-long tournament, including some teams that have previously seen action in the MPBL and the VisMin Super Cup. </p><p>&quot;We have been planning for a long time,&quot; Reyes said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday morning. </p><p>&quot;Right now, we are at the stage of getting approval ng LGU talaga. I think this is the most challenging part, given this new normal set-up,&quot; he added. &quot;The priority is the safety of the whole league and the players. So that&#x27;s where we&#x27;re at right now.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The teams are set already, the line-ups are set. So we are just waiting for the restrictions to ease out in our venue.&quot;</p><p>On social media, FilBasket said the tournament is set to open although an official schedule has yet to be released, as the organizers continue to wait for an official green light from the concerned government agencies.</p><p>Reyes guaranteed that health and safety protocols will be strictly implemented in Splendido, with COVID-19 testing to be done before, during, and even upon their exit from the bubble.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CT6nziQPAkj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"> </div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"> </div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CT6nziQPAkj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CT6nziQPAkj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"> </div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"> </div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"> </div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"> </div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"> </div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"> </div></div><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CT6nziQPAkj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by FILBASKET (@filbasket)</a></div></div></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Among the teams that have already committed to FilBasket are the Davao Occidental Tigers, the Pasig City-Sta. Lucia Realtors, the San Juan Knights, 7A Primus, EOG Sports Burlington, FSD Makati Army, the Muntilupa Defenders, MJAS Zenith, and MTrans Buracai De Laiya Batangas City.</p><p>Originally, Canada Clearport International also committed to playing in the inaugural tournament but had to withdraw given the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Reyes, who last played for the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in the MPBL, said they founded FilBasket with the goal of giving opportunities for Filipino players who have lost their jobs in the past year due to the global health crisis.</p><p>&quot;Given this pandemic, there&#x27;s been a lot of players, athletes in general, who are out of jobs and are eager to get back on the court,&quot; said Reyes. &quot;We really wanted to help the players, and I myself, coming from the industry also, naramdaman ko eh, how quickly our jobs were taken away from us.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We didn&#x27;t really have a chance to learn anything new to provide for our careers and means of living. So that&#x27;s the main advocacy of FilBasket right now for our inaugural tournament. We really want to help the athletes, coaches, and the whole industry of basketball na makapag-simula naman,&quot; he added.</p><p>The amateur league ultimately hopes to live up to its tagline as the &quot;home of Filipino basketball,&quot; and give opportunities to players to fully showcase their abilities and talent. Reyes assured that they have a long-term vision in place and are determined to reach their goal.</p><p>&quot;Given all the other leagues that are here right now, lahat ng leagues merong kanya-kanyang purpose, kanya-kanyang goals. It just so happens that for FilBasket, our main goal is to develop the talents of the players, help the players get better at the game, and right now for the inaugural season… it&#x27;s to help them get their jobs back,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Pero our main product, this we can promise you, will always be basketball. (It) will always be developing talents, para &#x27;tong talents na &#x27;to, maibigay namin, maihatid namin sa fans, na mapanood nila &#x27;tong top quality basketball, entertainment. And we&#x27;ll always make decisions for the betterment of the game and our players,&quot; he added.<br/> </p>

FilBasket is nearing the start of its inaugural tournament after securing the Splendido Taal Country Club as the location of its 'bubble.'

Upstart league FilBasket look to provide opportunities for Pinoy players

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Sports

Upstart league FilBasket look to provide opportunities for Pinoy players

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 28, 2021 03:33 PM PHT

Read More:

basketball

FilBasket

Jai Reyes

Splendido Taal Country Club

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.