Basketball is considered as the most watched sport in the Philippines, though it is not the National Sport.
Since the 1900’s, when United States’ Young Men’s Christian Association(YMCA) introduced basketball in the Philippines, playing and watching basketball has already been part of the daily lives of the Filipinos, which makes basketball part of the Philippine culture. Their love for basketball gave birth to the different Basketball leagues in th Philippines.
Basketball leagues in the Philippines were formed during different eras. Up until now, some of these leagues still remains. To be more familiar with the Basketball leagues in the Philippines, a list of some of the major Basketball leagues in the Philippines will be provided for you.
Major Basketball Leagues in the Philippines
The number one Basketball league in the Philippines is the Philippine Basketball Association, also known as the PBA. It was founded in Quezon City on April 9, 1975. It is the first and oldest basketball league in Asia.
The PBA is the men’s professional basketball league in the Philippines. The game rules are composed of the combined rules of the FIBA’s and of the NBA. The league is composed of 10 company-branded franchised teams:
Another basketball league in the Philippines is the Philippine Basketball League, or the PBL, formed on 1983. Unlike PBA, PBL is the country’s premiere non-professional commercil league for men. The league is composed of different teams which may be a regional team, commercial team, or collegiate team. Some of the basketball players or the stars in the PBA started playing in the PBL, where they start making their own names and where they get discovered by PBA teams.
NCAA Philippines, National Collegiate Athletic Association, is again, one of the basketball leagues in the Philippines. The first NCCA Philippines basketball game began in 1924. The NCAA basketball tournament begins in June, which is also the start of the first semester in the Philippines.
The NCAA basketball tournament is composed of different teams that represent the school they belong to. Every year, the teams compete for the champion title for the Junior and the Senior Division. When a team wins both the Junior and Senior divisions, it is said that they have won the “double championship”. There are nine teams in both the Junior and Senior divisions.
The most watched collegiate tournament in the Philipines, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines or otherwise called the UAAP. The UAAP basketball division is divided into two: the Senior division and the Junior division. The Senior division is subdivided into the men’s division and the women’s division.
A celebration of the feast of a place is not complete without any amateur basketball league. A village is incomplete and quiet without a basketball court. There are still a whole lot of leagues not mentioned in this article, which only reflects on how the Filipinos embrace basketball in their lives. The basketball leagues in the Philippines makes the Filipino people practice unity and sportsmanship.
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