PIBAQ opens 2014 with tourney as tribute to Filipino envoy
Qatar Tribune Daily English Newspaper 

By: AILYN AGONIA        

Pics by Ronnie Castro

 

 

DOHA: The Pinoy Basketball of Qatar (Pibaq) will be opening its calendar of events for 2014 with a tribute to Philippine Ambassador to Qatar HE Crescente Relacion through the 3rd Ambassador Cup 2014 (McDonald's Qatar Inter-Province) to be held at the Al Gharafa Training Gym from January 31 to March 21.

The eight-week tournament will also serve as a goodwill project aimed at generating funds for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. It is being organised in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Qatar and the United Filipino Organization in Qatar (UFOQ).

During the turnover of the champion plaque of the 4th GCC All-Filipino Club Championship at the Philippine Embassy, we discussed about relaunching the Ambassador Cup in line with the last term in office of Ambassador Relacion. The tournament is one of the biggest and most prestigious Filipino basketball leagues in the country, which brings together the best players in the community representing different provinces of the Philippines, ‌ Pibaq President Pat Carido told Qatar Tribune.

Six to eight teams are expected to join the event. Among the likely provinces to be represented include Pampanga headed by Noli Raagas and Pete De Veas, Visayas headed by Verne Calledo and Nelson del Santos, Batangas headed by Renato Dinglasan, Mindoro headed by Erwin Villanueva and Bataan headed by Joel Sta Maria. The province of Bicol and the Philippines' capital Manila are also in the list.

The Ambassador Cup will be followed by the 15th Men's Basketball Season slated to be held between March 28 and June 27. A maximum of 16 teams divided into two brackets are expected to be seen in action during the tournament.

In April, the Pibaq Team Qatar Falcon and SBP (Basketball Federation of the Philippines)-Qatar will be taking part in the 5th GCC All-Filipino Club Championship to be held in Bahrain.

Other local events to watch out for include the 16th Season, Reinforce Double Impact from July 4 to September 26 and the 1st GCC 3x3 All- Filipino Club Championship scheduled for October.

We look forward to another successful year as Pibaq hosted some great tournaments in 2013. The organisation was also able to help a number of amateur players and continuously providing entertainment to the community. The Qatar Basketball Federation (QBF) and the Philippine Embassy are both equally-committed to support Pibaq leagues and the Filipino basketball players in the country. We also aspire to retain the championship title for the Inter-GCC All-Filipino tournament to continuously uplift the caliber of Filipino basketball in the region, ‌ Carido added.

The Pibaq President also urged his kababayans in Doha to render their full support to the league. He said, œThe overseas Filipino workers here are the very reason why Pibaq was founded and continuously being active in the community. We hope more and more Pinoys will choose basketball as their means of entertainment at the same time to keep them away from vices as well as to uplift their spirits against homesickness.