50 Fil-Am teams hustle in 1st Filipino Basketball Invitational Tournament

WASHINGTON, DC — Fifty Filipino American basketball teams from more than a dozen organizations came together over Labor Day weekend to showcase their skills on the court at the first annual Filipino Basketball Invitational Tournament (FBIT).

The tournament was hosted by the Filipino American Youth Basketball Association of Metro DC (FYBA) whose motto is “Developing Talent and Character.”

Held at venues in the suburbs of Washington, DC, the games featured top Filipino basketball talents such as Brandon Chauca of the University of California Bears, highly sought after 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.

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

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 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.

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 Fil-Am basketball organizations, such FYBA, FSA Elite Jacksonville, JCI New Jersey and FABLI-New York among others.

FYBA of Metro DC officers, volunteers, coaches and players. THE FILAM

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, Virginia 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 Fil-Am 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.