NLEX won’t be back to defend its title in the annual Kadayawan Invitational Basketball Tournament.
The Road Warriors are not part of the cast of teams seeing action in the 26th edition of the meet being held in celebration of the Kadayawan Festival in Davao.
Neither will there be any PBA teams nor collegiate squads from the UAAP and NCAA participating this year, marking the first time such will happen since the tournament was revived in 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, local teams spice up the action in the Aug. 27 to 30 competition that will see the Zamboanga Valientes, Davao Agilas, WB and Sofia, and Santi Vista Pacific Beach Resort vying for the grand prize of half a million pesos.
Games will be played at the Davao City Recreation Center.
Former Gilas Pilipinas special draftee Mike Tolomia is again expected to be at the forefront of the Valientes' campaign, while fellow ex-PBA players in Vic Manuel and Jackson Corpuz are known regular players of WB and Sofia.
Recent Kadayawan kings
Last year, NLEX won the championship after beating Blackwater in the title game, 101-84, with Tony Semerad emerging as Finals MVP.
In 2024, it was Rain or Shine which was crowned king behind Finals MVP Andrei Caracut, as the Elasto Painters dethroned La Salle, 138-116.
The Green Archers were the 2023 champions following a close 86-83 win over archrival Ateneo, as Evan Nelle copped Finals MVP honors.
Jerom Lastimosa was the 2022 Finals MVP in leading Adamson to the throne via a 71-69 thriller against Team Davao.
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