SBP/Passerelle Twin Tournament, the country’s most prestigious interschool basketball competition for kids, kicks off its 30th season this Sunday, July 19, at the Xavier School Fr. Rafael Cortina Gym in Greenhills. The opening ceremony will be attended by Nieto twins, Michael and Matthew, who started their basketball career in Small Basketeers and are now members of Batang Gilas.
Organized by the Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training (BEST) Center, this year’s season promises to be another exciting tournament with 600 players from 40 teams participating in the games.
The competition will run for three months with kids 9-11 years old vying for the Small Basketeers Philippines (SBP) trophy and kids 12-14 years old playing for the Passerelle title. Defending their SBP title is Xavier School, which was the NCR and national champion last year. University of Visayas, meanwhile, will play their all for their Passerelle title.
The SBP participating teams are composed of Xavier School Team A, Xavier School Team B, Ateneo de Manila Team A, Ateneo de Manila Team B, De la Salle Santiago Zobel, La Salle Greenhills Team A, La Salle Greenhills Team B, Notre Dame of Greater Manila, St. Mary;s College, Quezon City; Lourdes School, Quezon City; Marist School, San Beda College Rizal, and San Sebastian College-Recoletos.
The Passerelle participating teams, meanwhile, include Ateneo de Manila Team A, Ateneo de Manila Team B, Lourdes School Mandaluyong, Xavier School, Adamson University, La Salle Greenhills Team A, La Salle Greenhills Team B, University of Santo Tomas, Nazareth School of NU, Notre Dame of Greater Manila, St May's College, De la Salle Santiago Zobel, San Beda College Rizal, and St. Augustin International School.
Sponsored by Milo and Chris Sports, the SBP/Passerelle Twin Tournament is organized by the BEST Center since 1985 to provide aspiring young players a platform to showcase their basketball skills on a national level, as well as foster camaraderie and sportsmanship among the participating schools, the players and parents.
For more information, please call the BEST Center hotlines 411-6260 or 372-3065, or visit BEST Center Sports Inc. on Facebook.
Celebrating 35 years of producing basketball legends, the Best Center is the pioneer scientific sports clinic in the country and was cited with an Olympism Award by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), and installed in the Hall of Fame by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA).
