16 July 2013 – The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Pilipino Integrated Games and Amusement @ KL (PIGA@KL) is currently holding the Petron Cup basketball tournament, in coordination with the Embassy.
The tournament opened its season by participating in the 2nd Independence Day parade in the commemoration of the 115th Philippine Independence organized by the Embassy last June 9. After the parade, a selection team from all the teams participated in an exhibition match against a local team.
“Basketball is really a Filipino passion, and it is not surprising that there will be a basketball tournament in any given Filipino community. On behalf of the Embassy, I extend my warmest congratulations to the organizers and players of the Petron Cup and wish everyone the best of luck as they represent their teams in the tournament,” Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya said.
There are 11 teams in the tournament—Bangsar Thunders, Batangas Blades, Bobby’s Dragons, Designers Technip, Expats, Grand Monde, KLPE, Pangasinan Waves, St. John Baptist, Team KL-Filipino and Team F-5.0—which players include architects, engineers, IT and service-sector personnel. Bobby’s Dragons is a guest Malaysian team headed by the Asian Basketball League’s Kuala Lumpur Dragons Filipino head coach, Ariel Vanguardia.
For the tournament, the teams are initially divided into two groups for the elimination round, where each team plays each other in their groupings in a round robin scheme. The top three teams moving on to the play-offs round from will be determined by a quotient system.
The top three teams from each group will then converge in a single grouping for the play-offs round and will then play each other in a round robin match. The four top teams will move on to the semifinal round, where the first seed plays the third seed and the second seed plays the fourth seed in a best-of-three tournament. The winners of the matches will move on into a best of three championship game, and the losers will play a single-game match for third place.
Games are held at the SJK Chin Woo School located at Jalan Pasar in Kuala Lumpur every Sunday starting June 15. There are four games featured in every game day until September 15.
“The objectives of PIGA@KL basketball tournament is not only to promote games but to likewise foster friendship, solidarity, and affinity among the community of Filipinos from all walks of life, residing and working in Kuala Lumpur. The games also aim to give to the hardworking Filipinos something to look forward to every Sunday, instead of idling their time or indulging in vices, and for them to be able to personally obtain a sense of achievement and pride during their years of work in Malaysia,” tournament main organizer Bart Vista said.
Aside from being tenants of the school’s basketball court, PIGA@KL has also contributed for its improvement by painting the floor with Acratex enviro-shield court paint, four new weather-proof power socket outlets, and replacing the backboards, rings and nettings.
The tournament is mainly sponsored by Petron Malaysia and co-sponsored by Debase (M) Sdn. Bhd., Ideaworks Sdn. Bhd., and ABBV+A Architects. END