Western Visayas proved to be one of the hotbeds of basketball stars in the country as 17 players will see action in the 2022 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.
This year’s tournament will kick off this Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Converge FiberXers, Blackwater Bossing, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and Magnolia Chicken Timpladoa Hotshots are among the teams competing for the coveted title.
Negros Occidental has the most players from Region 6 with nine, mostly from Bacolod City, followed by Iloilo with five, Aklan with two and Antique with one.
Six players will suit up for Meralco Bolts – Bacolod City natives Reynel Hugnatan and Siverino Baclao, Pontevedra native Raymar Jose, Ilonggo Antonio Jose Caram and Antiqueno Rey Mark Belo.
NLEX Road Warriors has four Western Visayas-based players – Bago City’s Raul Soyud, Bacolod City’s Justin Chua, Manapla, Negros Occidental native Paul Varilla and Aklanon Kris Rosales.
Terrafirma Dyip, on the other hand, has two players from the region – Silay City, Negros Occidental native John Paul Calvo and Andreas Cahilig, who has roots from Aklan.
San Miguel Beermen, for its part, also has two players who traced their roots in Region 6 – Jericho Cruz and Paul Zamar, who were both from Iloilo City.
Other WV-based players in the upcoming PBA conference were TNT Tropang Giga’s Kib Montalbo (Bacolod City), Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters’ Billy Ray Robles (Estancia, Iloilo), NorthPort Batang Pier’s Juan Paolo Taha (San Miguel, Iloilo) and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings’ Jeffrei Chan (Bacolod City).
There were some notable Region 6-based players who were not rostered – Negrenses James Yap and Joe Devance and Ilonggos Kiefer Ravena and Clint Doliguez.IMT Sports
