50 teams see action in 1st Filipino basketball invitational

Jump ball between FYBA Northern Virginia and FSA Jacksonville 16-under Division

Jump ball between FYBA Northern Virginia and FSA Jacksonville 16-under Division

The first annual Filipino Basketball Invitational Tournament (FBIT) hosted by the Filipino-American Youth Basketball Association of Metro DC (FYBA) lived up to its motto, “Developing Talent and Character,” as 50 Filipino basketball teams from over a dozen organizations came together over Labor Day weekend to showcase their skills and talent.

Held at venues in the suburbs of Washington D.C., the FBIT featured top Filipino basketball talents such as Brandan Chauca of the University of California Bears, highly-recruited 6’10’ Quentin Millora-Brown, and Chase Lane of Doane Academy among others. Additionally, the FYBA Northern Virginia Men’s Open Division Champion team included former pro and college players from the Philippines.

According to FYBA Board Chairman Cesar Conda, “We created the FBIT because Filipino basketball organizations were demanding a highly competitive tournament that was free of the kind of politics and bending of the rules that they experienced in other Filipino inter-city tournaments.”

The FBIT used the same age rules used by Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), travel and high school basketball organizations because they allowed Filipino youth teams that play year-round together to compete in an inter-city Filipino Labor Day Tournament. The basketball games used “stop clock” instead of “running clock” rules. The FBIT employed some of the latest online applications for player registration, age verification and game scheduling. Parents and coaches were able to register their players and view game schedules and brackets on their smartphones.

Brandon Chauca and Quentin Millora-Brown of the FYBA-DC Men's Open Team

Brandon Chauca and Quentin Millora-Brown of the FYBA-DC Men’s Open Team

The “FBIT Fest” held on September 1 featured opening ceremonies, a parade of teams and pure basketball contests, including a Three-Point Shootout and a Slam-Dunk Contest. Saturday and Sunday featured highly competitive contests between renowned powerhouse FilAm basketball organizations, such FYBA, FSA Elite Jacksonville, JCI New Jersey and FABLI-New York among others.

FYBA won five championships in the Mosquito (8U), Tykes (10U), Peewee (12U), Bantam (14U), and Men’s Open divisions; FSA Jacksonville won four championships in the Damsels (13U), Juniors (16U), Juvenile (19U) and 6 feet-under divisions; Team Gil won the Seniors (35&Up) Division Championship; and Team DMV won the Masters Division championship.

For Labor Day weekend 2018, the Filipino Basketball Invitational Tournament will be held in the Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach, VA area. The venue is the renowned Boo Williams SportsPlex, a modern 8-court facility used by high profile AAU tournaments and basketball showcase events, and is centrally-located near the Bush Gardens theme park, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Virginia Beach boardwalk, not to mention Jollibee restaurant and Red Ribbon.

“We’ve already secured commitments from several prominent FilAm and Fil-Can basketball groups. But we are only accepting a total of 80 teams, so register now,” said FYBA President Russell Casapao. For more information about the FBIT 2018, contact Casapao at 202-415-0880.

GMA Network was the exclusive media sponsor of this year’s FBIT.

© 2017 The FilAm

FYBA of Metro DC officers, volunteers, coaches and players

FYBA of Metro DC officers, volunteers, coaches and players

Jeremy Conda of FYBA-DC Juvenile Team scores against Maryland DAKILA

Jeremy Conda of FYBA-DC Juvenile Team scores against Maryland DAKILA



One Comment

  1. JOJO CORPUZ wrote:

    If you wish to cover PIBNA (Original Intercity Tournament) on it’s 42nd year, please contact me.
    We will be in Queens College next year expecting about 100 plus teams from 16 Chartered cities.

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