The 2016 BPO Classics opened its biggest tournament yet with more teams making for even tougher competition.
A whopping 34 BPO companies have fielded their respective teams in the biggest BPO sports and lifestyle tournament in the country organized and ran by One Unite Sports.
Telstra kicked off the festivities in the Recreational men’s basketball division with a 66-53 domination of Eclaro at the EJG Lucky Gym in Sucat.
It was a complete team effort for Telstra with three players scoring in double digits and the rest contributing least 2 points.
Josh Caracut and Chris Sales had 11 points apiece to lead Telstra, which led by as much as 20 in the second half all the way to the first win.
It was also a rout in the other Recreational game of the opening day with Sitel blasting Ubiquity, 81-63.
Despite a shootout between their best scorers, it was Sitel which managed to break away with a 26-8 run to end the third quarter.
John Rivera had 24 points and nine boards off the bench for Sitel while Lowel Lalosa exploded for 28 points and nine rebounds in a losing effort for Ubiquity.
Sitel was also unforgiving in its 97-45 win over KMC Solutions in the Recreational Plus division.
Sitel lit it up from beyond the arch and owned the paint with eight players chipping in at least 10 points, offering no chance for redemption for KMC Solutions.
Dan Briones spearheaded the onslaught with 11 points and 13 rebounds while Jomar Tandoc with 13 points built on three triples.
No player from KMC’s side finished more than seven points.
In the Intermediate division, Open Access turned to its starters to pull away in the fourth and turn back Assurant BPO, 86-73.
With only eight players on deck against Assurant’s 15, four from the starting lineup took care of business for Open Access and accounted for 82 points.
Ryan Caingcoy had 28 points and nine rebounds while Mico Co added 20 markers and 18 boards, Chris Domingo 20 points and five assists and Michael Domingo 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight dimes.
It was a thrilling start to what is expected to be an action-packed tournament with 35 teams vying for the coveted BPO Classics men’s basketball crown, nine teams competing in the men’s volleyball division and four teams in the distaff side.
This is the biggest number of teams the tournament has ever seen with BPO Classics only starting with 15 participating companies back in 2012.
But with the quality of the competition and the companies’ desire to promote camaraderie and healthy lifestyle, BPO Classics slowly grew into the top tournament that caters to both large and small BPOs.
The league introduced the volleyball tournaments in 2015, which was met with utmost excitement among the fast-rising sport’s enthusiasts with 11 teams competition in the men’s division and five in the women’s.
