PBA legend Rey Evangelista is among the best basketball products of Ormoc city, along with current NorthPort Batang Pier star Robert Bolick.

Like Bolick, who played for Gilas Pilipinas at the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers recently, Evangelista once represented the PBA-backed national squad in the Asian Games in 1994 when he was still a rookie playing for Coney Island, the team carried by the old Purefoods franchise in the PBA.

Evangelista is proud to see Bolick representing the country, seeing the pride of Barangay Alegria, Ormoc, playing in the 2 windows of the world basketball stage.

Now one of the commissioners of the sports council in Leyte, Evangelista also takes pride that Ormoc is represented in the coming season of the Pilipinas VisMin Cup.

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"Of course, we're proud. It's our first time that the province will be represented in major regional basketball event like the VisMin Cup," Evangelista told ABS-CBN News in a telephone interview.

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"We would like to thank OCCI for supporting the team and s’yempre, the LGU naman supported the squad as well by providing them the practice facility where the team can practice."

Ormoc will be one of 7 teams competing in the new season of the VisMin Cup, which will be under new management and will be headed by league commissioner Cris Bautista.

Other teams seeing action in the tournament are Bohol-CPG Pure Mineral Water, Misamis Oriental, Iligan City, Tubigon Mariners, Zamboanga City and Basilan Macfi.

Ormoc will be banking on 6-time PBA champion and the NCAA's first rookie-MVP Gabby Espinas and former Atreneo import Chibueze ikeh.

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Other key players on the squad are former PBA player Paul Sanga, and veteran forwards Pari Llagas and Mark Guillen, who both saw action in the MPBL playing for the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.