By ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA – Eight Western Visayas-based players are rostered to play in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament, which will kick off this afternoon at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Among the eight Region 6 players, three traced their roots from the province of Negros Occidental, three from Iloilo City, and one each from Bacolod City and the province of Capiz.
University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons has the greatest number of Western Visayas-based players at three in Iloilo City’s Gerry Abadiano, Silay City, Negros Occidental’s Harold Alarcon and Bago City’s Reyland Torres.
Adamson University Falcons, on the other hand, has two Region 6-based players in Isabela, Negros Occidental-native rookie Kenji Cañete and Iloilo City-native Flever Dignadice.
Aside from the two, the Falcons also had fourth year forward Cedrick Manzano, who was from Cajidiocan, Romblon but spent his high school years with Hua Siong College of Iloilo Red Phoenix.
Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, on the other hand, have one in Iloilo City’s Ian Espinosa, University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers has Roxas City, Capiz-native Christian Manaytay, and National University Bulldogs has Bacolodnon Donn Lim.
Other participating schools in UAAP Season 87 are defending champions De La Salle University Green Archers, Far Eastern University Tamaraws and University of the East Red Warriors.
Action kicks off at six in the evening tonight with season-host Fighting Maroons facing the revamped Blue Eagles, which has lost several key players during the offseason, in a battle of Katipunan.
On Sunday afternoon, the Growling Tigers will open their campaign against the Red Warriors, the Tamaraws battling the Falcons, and the Green Archers facing the Bulldogs./PN
