Overtime

JAI REYES ENVISIONS AN ‘INCLUSIVE’ FILBASKET LEAGUE, SET TO BEGIN ON OCTOBER

Jai Reyes, the creator of the Filbasket league, shared that the league was created for players and fans who have been clamoring for local basketball and will start in October.

/ 30 September 2021

On Tuesday, at an online discussion hosted by the Philippine Sportswriters Association, Reyes said that the Filbasket is designed to assist every Filipino basketball player and the stories they convey.

“We really pride ourselves in building a league that is inclusive and we also want to make basketball, the sport and the talent of the players, the stories of the players, and the teams as our main product. For Filbasket, ito talaga ang produkto namin. We are not using basketball for other goals and plans. For Filbasket, this is our main product,” said Reyes.

It also aims to showcase the players’ talents from commercial, corporate, or regional teams to provide jobs to those affected by the pandemic.

“Our decisions will always be for the betterment of the game, of the talent of the players and to bring to fans the highest level of basketball entertainment.”

The newly established amateur basketball league’s players consist of college, amateur, and semi-pro levels and are expected to compete in a ‘fair, with parity, and no bias’.

That is how Reyes described one of the key features of the Filbasket league and hoped to give what the fans wanted.

“We want to listen to the fans. ‘Yun ang isa sa mga core visions rin namin. Gusto naming pakinggan ‘yung mga fans kung ano ‘yung gusto nila. Hindi naman namin kaya pasayahin lahat. In general, kung ano ‘yung hinahanap ng fans, ‘yun ang gusto naming ibigay.

“We want to have a league that is fair, with parity, and no bias. From the get go, ‘yan ‘yung hinahanap ng mga tao,” said Reyes.

Meanwhile, the league is preparing and awaiting the approval of LGUs to host a one-month bubble tournament in Splendido in Laurel, Batangas.

Dati you can just start any league anytime, anywhere. Right now the priority is the safety of the whole league and the whole players,” said the former Ateneo Blue Eagles.

San Juan Knights, Davao Occidental Tigers, Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors, 7A Primus, EOG Sports Burlington, FSD Makati Army, Muntinlupa Defenders, MJAS Zenith, and M Trans Buracai De Laiya, as well as two teams from Nueva Ecija and Basilan, are among the competing teams.