CAGE legend Benjie Paras will be heading the country’s future stars of the sport, looking to provide better opportunities as the commissioner of the Philippine Youth Basketball Championship (PYBC).
Together with Deputy Commissioner, WMBPL champion coach Paolo Layug, and Tournament Director, Momentum PH founder Carl Villanueva, Paras is set to oversee the newest grassroots league, which focuses on combining top-notch action and analytics.
“Having the PYBC will help players to expose their talent and skills, and not just wait for coaches to find and discover them,” said the four-time PBA champion, who first made his mark with San Beda High School after being discovered while playing street hoops.
The goal of the PYBC, together with PalawayPay, is to be the youth’s premier and go-to platform for their development.
“At PalawanPay, we believe in nurturing the potential of the Filipino youth; not just in academics, but also in sports where discipline, teamwork, and determination are honed,” said Lilian Castro-Selda, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Palawan Group of Companies.
“Our partnership with the PYBC is part of our commitment to give back to the community by supporting programs that inspire the next generation to dream big and work hard. Just as we aim to make everyday transactions simple, secure, and accessible for all, we also want to make opportunities in sports within reach for young talents nationwide,” she added.
To commit to this vision, the PYBC, backed by PalawayPay, Aces Solar, Chronos Athletics, Chooks-to-Go, Team Access – Official Nike Partner, Daily Essentials, Goodday Friz, and Papa Bear Clothing, vows to deliver a program that is supported by structured competition that is complemented by digital solutions.
“In today’s technology, this is what players need. Data and analytics help players to work harder, play harder, and also build their confidence,” said Paras of the PYBC, which will be providing teams with halftime analysis for real-time performance evaluation, post-game performance reports with detailed analysis, statistical review of player performance, strengths, and growth areas, and advanced analytics and performance metrics.
Another highlight of the league is its focus on being the pioneer of using player ranking per age group in the country, and the league will utilize this by adopting a system that is used both in the US and Europe.
These, according to Paras, are all for the PYBC’s mission to provide a better pathway for the Philippines’ next crop of aces in the sport.
“With the help of PYBC, and with Deputy Pao and Director Carl, we will do all that we can for these players to shine, to do well, and to be noticed. Yun talaga ang pinaka goal namin,” he said.
“Step-by-step ‘to. Kailangan mong tapusin yung high school and prove yourself, then ang aim naman is ‘yung collegiate and then National team. Tuloy-tuloy na yun, hindi mo maaalis sa mga bata yan,” he added. “So kailangan nating ma-guide sila ng tama.”
The inaugural season of the PYBC will run from September 2025 until early 2026, and it will feature two conferences with rotating age divisions under a single round-robin format.
The PYBC’s inaugural conference is set to feature Under-11 (Born 2014), Under-13 (Born 2012), and Under-15 (Born 2010) divisions.
After the single-round eliminations, participating teams will advance into the quarterfinals, winning teams will enter the knockout semifinals, and eventually the best-of-3 finals.
