Iloilo reclaims title in 2026 Chairman’s Cup Philippines Basketball

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Ilonggo hoopers are once again kings of the Chairman’s Cup Philippines Basketball.

After two years of title drought, the championship returned to the home bets after Team Iloilo (White), represented by the St. Robert’s International College of Iloilo, put on a masterclass over Cebu, 77-61, during the Division I grand finals at the Warehouse Basketball Gym in Molo, Iloilo City.

Iloilo left no crumbs during the five-day tournament after finishing with an undefeated 5-0 win-loss record before setting up the championship showdown against the visitors from Cebu.

The Ilonggos kicked things off with a nail-biting victory over Capiz, 63-59, behind perfect shooting from Jhon Rican Jeruta, who delivered 16 points and five rebounds.

Iloilo slowly shrugged off their court rust with another win over Negros Oriental, 52-42, followed by a gutsy dub against Cagayan de Oro, 92-85.

The win against CDO was a character test passed with flying colors after Skylze Nicholai Gadong, this year’s MVP, exploded for 35 big points on five made 3-pointers.

Despite the fatigue, Iloilo continued to perform and handed Aklan its first loss of the tournament, 90-72, steering them to the Division I semifinals, where they outdueled Negros Occidental, 63-54.

After the dominant start, Iloilo set their sights on Cebu, which also entered the finale with a perfect record, having not lost a single game.

Cebu struck first during the finals as they hounded Iloilo with their full-court defensive pressure, but the battle-tested home team responded in the second half, receiving much-needed baskets from John Elijah Luke Rose, a household name in the high school hoops scene after turning heads in the Palarong Pambansa.

Rose’s clutch shooting, including 11 fourth-quarter points, helped Iloilo pull away in the final frame and prevented Cebu from pulling within a single-digit deficit.

After the successful tournament, Ralph Justin C. Uy, the vice president of Chairman’s Cup Philippines, expressed his sense of fulfillment in yet another fruitful end to a sweet season.

“Chairman’s Cup PH was bigger this year as we welcomed two new teams in Negros Oriental and Tacloban,” Uy said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Guardian.

“We saw promising talents in all of the participating provinces as they fought with pride for their beloved hometowns. As we always observe our culture of Kaizen, we are looking at more improvements to give everyone a better Chairman’s Cup PH in the years to come.”

The Chairman’s Cup PH would like to thank Toyota Iloilo Inc., SBP Zone 6, Toyota Aklan, Toyota Puerto Princesa, Toyota Roxas City, TEN122 Athletics, BlueChips Sportswear, Smart Sports, and Southwest Travel and Tours.