2013 E-League tournament to start Sunday

SIXTEEN teams vie for glory as the 2013 E-League for Basketball fires off this Sunday at the City Sports Club-Cebu Gym.

The brand-new tournament which, will run for six months,  was officially launched yesterday led by tournament director Rey Fuentes and league commissioner and former PBA player Al Solis.

“We are expecting another successful and action-packed season,” said Fuentes.  “The teams have beefed up their lineups and the games are expected to be tight. There were player movements with some top players now with their new teams so this could be an exciting season.”

Led by defending champion Stream Ingenyouity, the competing teams were divided into two conferences—southern and northern—with each conferences sliced into two brackets.

Teams in the same bracket will play in double round robin in the elimination round while each team in the same conference will duke it out in a single round robin format in the tournament supported by Enjoy VIP Privilege Card, Winner’s Circle, Mesa, Imperial Palace and City Career Guide.

Composing the Bracket A in the northern conference are the Aegis Vipers, the Author Solutions Inc. Hardbacks (formerly Xlibris), the Calltek Trojans and the Kyocera Frontiers while the Bracket B will have the 1&1 Marauders, the Eperformax Reds, the Executive Boutique Lycans and Stream.

In the southern conference, Bracket C has league newcomer Talleco Bandits, returning team Wipro Tigers, the Sykes Pioneers and the Teleperformance Lions. The Bracket D will have the Telstra-Teletech Titans, the Accenture Sharks , the SSI Warriors and the Lexmark Stallions.

The opening day will feature the parade of all teams and the selection of best muse. The lone game will pit 1&1 against Executive Boutique.

Individual awards will be handed out later in the tournament such as the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year, among others.  Games will be played every Saturday and Sunday from  1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA