The National Basketball League (NBL) and Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) get the cage fever rolling in Luzon when it holds the novelty 1v1 matches this weekend at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center.
Three matchups in the men’s and five more in the distaff side are in store in the special event that showcases the individual skills and talent of players.
And instead of classifying both the men’s and women’s division per height limit, the organizers classified the players according to weight, namely featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight.
“It’s like having a boxing pero basketball ang laro natin so it’s going to be entertaining,” said NBL/WNBL Executive Vice President Rhose Montreal in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum online edition on Tuesday.
NBL 1v1 Commissioner Jerry Codinera and fellow WNBL 1v1 counterpart Haydee Ong joined Montreal in the weekly session presented by San Miguel Corporation (SMC), MILO, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
Ong said the women’s match up include Allana Lim against Snow Penaranda (light-heavyweight), Jhenn Chrystelle Angeles versus Angelica De Austria (lightweight), Sthefanie Ventura versus Nicole Cancio (welterweight), Jo Razalo opposite Girly Villaflores (heavyweight), and Jolina Go versus Nicole Delos Reyes (featherweight).
For his part, Codinera announced the men’s side include former Barangay Ginebra player Teytey Teodoro against Arnaud Noah (heavyweight), Christopher Lagrama versus Mark Tamayo (featherweight), and Raymart Amil against Marvin Baracael (welterweight).
“Kailangan may weight class para hindi disadvantageous sa mga atleta na lalaro,” said Ong, the former Philippine women’s team coach and currently mentor of the University of Santo Tomas Lady Tigers.
Codinera, the PBA great and former coach of University of the East and Arellano University, said the NBL decided to do away with competitions per height limit since it’s easier to classify the players according to their weight.
“So it’s for you to find a way to beat (your opponent). Kahit malaki siya but he is lighter. It’s a challenge na baka puwede ka ring talunin ng small guys pero magsing-bigat lang kayo,” added the 54-year-old cage pro in the session powered by Smart and with Upstream Media as the official webcast partner.
“Marami siyang pros and cons sa game, so it’s really exciting. Diskartehan na lang ang laban.”
The NBL 1v1 will feature three rounds of five minutes per game with no timeouts. In between rounds, there will be a two-minute interval in the race-to-30 contest.
The WNBL meanwhile, will have one timeout per round, although the first four minutes will be a running time.
Championship belts will be given to all the winners per weight division.