JB ABL Successfully Kicks Off Developmental Hoops League

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The JB Amateur Basketball League (JB ABL) officially began its first conference of the year after a successful staging of its Developmental League opening on May 31, 2025, at the Burgos-Mabini Covered Court.

After nearly six months of taking a break from holding big leagues in Iloilo City, the JB ABL committee is finally back with a bang, and what perfect time it is to cater to the young students in the Under-12, U-15, and U-17 categories, who are currently enjoying the summer time.

The program started with a small prayer led by JB ABL’s long-time technical committee point person, Mr. Abwe Estenor, followed by the opening remarks from the league’s founder and commissioner, Mr. Jayphet Balbacal.

“Ini sya, pure development league gd ini, so use this one as a huge preparation for the bigger leagues nga maga abot pa sa school year. Wala lang please sakitanay, kag sa mga kabataan, kung ang kontra matumba, aton gd buligan. Hopefully matapos ang liga ta nga wala gd injury,” said Balbacal in his statement.

To end the opening program, JB ABL has invited Mr. John Jesner Ponsaran, the former ABK Chairperson, to deliver the closing remarks.

Before the first game, commissioner Balbacal first went to the front, and officially declared the opening games with another statement.

Gracing the first scheduled game of the opener were teams Leganes and St. Augustine in the U-12 category. Still intact with their core and their developing stars, team Leganes hardly broke a sweat and bagged their first win, 56-5.

Up next was another game in the same category, where the selected kids from team BEL-IS COVE dominated the team Hunters, 60-22. Jhon Adrian Serra was named as the Best Player of the Game after chipping in 14 big points.

After back-to-back U-12 games, the first game in the U-15 featured a thrilling finish as the Sun Yat Sen Blue Lions escaped the tough challenge from Anilao, 73-69.

Trailing by eight points in the final five minutes of the game, Sun Yat Sen banked on their full-court defensive pressure to pull off the come-from-behind win, led by Jandari Sim who dropped 16 points in the effort.

Unlike the see-saw affair between Sun Yat Sen and Anilao, the U-15 matchup between Dumangas and Phenom had a lopsided ending, 62-35.

Team Small Boys Dumangas scored the wire-to-wire win after topping all four quarters, boosted by the 18-point outing from Iver Pontaron.

Lastly, Jayden Razz Sumbong and Mandurriao got the better of St. ACTS in the final game of the opening schedule, 43-35.

“Hopefully tuloy tuloy na ini. It’s so refreshing to see these kids and supportive parents. Na batyagan ta na naman ang pag palangga nila sa JB ABL. We still have many games to go. For sure, ang mga kabataan nga ini kag ang mga programa kung diin sila ga hampang, damo damo gd mapulot nga adjustment that can help elevate their system. Tapuson ta sang matawhay, the JB ABL way,” said Balbacal in an exclusive interview with the Daily Guardian.