The highly-anticipated annual Alex Tumang Basketball Tournament kicks off this Sunday morning with its first two games.

This is the seventh edition of the tournament organized by Mike Bautista, creator of Sunday Hoops, and it's the largest yet. Eight teams from across the region are hoping to get their hands on the coveted Alex Tumang Cup.

There are two games each week, starting at 7 a.m. at the SLS Centre gym. To kick it off, Anne Reyes is challenging the Cochrane Lakers and its 2Js vs Timmy's Bitz. Also competing are the Good Good, YNG Reapers, Basket Hounds, and Bella Life Financials.

The final is on May 7. The week before that, Apr. 30, they'll be a fun all-star game for older basketball players and another for rising stars with a shot contest in between.

Bautista is thrilled with how the tournament and Sunday Hoops have grown over the year. 

"We have teams from Airdrie, northwest Calgary, Canmore, Brag Creek, and Cochrane," he says. "This is the first time this has happened, and we're thrilled."

Sunday Hoops continues to be held Sunday mornings from 7 to 9:30 a.m. It's grown from a handful of people to 30 to 60 players each week. 

Sunday HoopsOn Sunday, Mar. 5, there were plenty of players at Sunday Hoops preparing for the tournament.