Sinag Liga Asya set to take flight

SLA chairman Rocky Chan (fifth from right) and SLA head of basketball operations Paul Joven (fourth from right)

A new league is about to rise.

Sinag Liga Asya is set to start this coming July 24, spearheaded by its chairman Rocky Chan, head of basketball operations for Visayas and Mindanao Paul Joven, chief operating officer Leo Isaac, and commissioner Salvador Cortez Jr.

All of them have worked together previously at the Pilipinas Super League, providing experience for the startup league, with the objective of providing opportunities for homegrown basketball players in the Philippines to secure athletic collegiate scholarships with the eventual pathway towards professional basketball.

Chan shares, "We are going to give kids who have potential a platform to be discovered. With Sinag Liga Asya, we will not be focusing just on the Philippines, but we will have opportunities for these kids to be able to play internationally. It’s a new league, and an exciting one."

Joven adds, "Our vision here is for all the homegrown, unheralded talents who are not able to be seen to be able to play in primary destinations in the country." He also notes, "We’re here to develop players. We really want to develop young kids so they can be seen. I hope many teams will join us to benefit from this kind of avenue."

The July 24 start date is for the Visayas-Mindanao leg, which is to be hosted at the Mandaue City Sports Complex. Teams set for participation include the Lapu-Lapu City Heroes, DH25 Cebu City, Minglanilla Archangels, and the City of Mandaue.

This particular leg is co-presented and powered by Converge, supported by Foton, SCD, j project, MDC, Hotel Sogo, Wcube Solutions Inc., Bluesky advertising, Finn Cotton, with media partners Tiebreaker Times. Mytv Cebu, Dugout University, and Blast.

As for the Luzon leg, it is pegged to start on August 5 at the Tiaong Convention Center in Quezon, with twelve teams set to participate, including Pampanga Delta, Hustle Pampanga Floridablanca, Luid One Kampangpangan, Datzlav Javi Construction, LDG San Pedro, and the 2nd District of Quezon Province.

Potential participants include clubs from Quezon City, Antipolo, and Paranaque.

Chan also bared the potential possibility of sub-continental competition, through conversations with ASEAN stakeholders for a pocket competition with the SLA champion against some of the best from the region.