National Collegiate Champ

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Bleacher Talk

Oct. 8, 2006

National Collegiate Champ

Around three weeks ago through Bleacher Talk, this writer was praying that a genuine national collegiate tournament be revived so that the basketball family can determine a real champion of champions among the various collegiate leagues in the country.

To my pleasant surprise a day later, I chanced upon the Philippine Star column of Rey Gamboa that included a teaser about the ongoing Collegiate Champions’ League. The good news I was looking for started Thursday and will declare a national champion in two weeks. When the Champions’ League was launched four years ago (or is it five?), I truly believed that this had the makings of a big tournament that would gain the respect and admiration of the basketball fan. It brought in all the various collegiate league champions to a tournament similar to the playoff scheme of the U.S. NCAA Basketball Tournament.

The highlights? This year’s edition brings in a Sweet Sixteen line-up of teams featuring the best of the UAAP, NCAA and other leagues including Cebu’s CESAFI. Seeded # 1 is UAAP runner-up Ateneo while its NCAA counterpart San Beda is # 2. UAAP champions University of Sto Tomas is ranked # 3. The other teams include the University of the East (UE), Adamson University (Adu), National University (NU), Philippine Christian University (PCU), Letran College (LC), Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT), Jose Rizal University (JRU), Philippine Maritime Institute (PMI), Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC), St. Francis of Assisi (SFAC), AMA, and last but not least, Cebu’s University of the Visayas (UV) and University of Cebu (UC).

The league is thus composed of five teams each from the UAAP and NCAA, and the champions of the NAASCU, NCRAA, UCAA and CUSA. UV and UC are the only non-Manila teams in the lot, representing the two slots for Vismin.


Another remarkable feature of the tournament is that all games are televised over Basketball TV, Solar Sports’ brand new offering for the cable TV market. But what could be the most impressive aspect of the tournament are the prizes! The champion team will be going home with a P500,000 worth of scholarships and sports equipment. The second, third and fourth placers get P200,000, P100,000 and P50,000 worth of prizes respectively.

While I’m excited and happy about the recent developments, I have to admit that there are a few things which I also find a little odd. Can someone explain to me how the teams are ranked? While it’s understandable to see San Beda at # 2, I still don’t see the logic why Ateneo is ranked # 1 and UST is # 3. After all, didn’t UST defeat Ateneo for the UAAP title?

According to the tournament’s website, a sports panel ranked the teams in the Sweet 16. This “sports panel is composed of well-known sports personalities with knowledge and insight into collegiate basketball.”

And to show how much (or little) respect they have for us promdis, Cebu’s UV is ranked # 10 behind a top 9 list of Manila-based teams. For the record, UV made it to the Final Four of the first edition of the Champions’ League. Losing to eventual champions UE in the semifinals. In the tournament’s third edition, UV bagged third place, defeating PCU in a nail-biting finish. And last February, UV placed third again in the national inter-collegiate tournament that was organized by the Philippine Basketball Federation. With this track record of its past four national-level tournaments, they are now ranked an amazing # 10!

Yes, I will admit that I’m biased for Cebu and acknowledge the fact that the luck of the draw is one of the most crucial elements in a tournament like this where one loss means a ticket home. But then again, we aren’t part of the tournament’s revered sports panel. Oh well, I guess these are the things we’ll have to deal with.

UV now has the daunting task of facing # 7 Adamson University and no less than UAAP MVP Ken Bono tomorrow. If they get by the Falcons, they’ll most likely face San Beda College in the quarterfinals and possibly UST in the Final Four. Waiting at the other side of the draw are Ateneo, UE and PCU. On paper, the bottom half of the draw is as good as a championship tournament by itself while the upper half pales in comparison. UE and PCU are playing without key players, and this makes Ateneo a virtual shoo-in for an appearance in the finals (given on a silver platter?).

But there shouldn’t be room for excuses now. UV will just have to prove that it belongs among the top college teams in the land by beating Adamson, then San Beda and UST in its side of the draw.

***

Time-out: Happy birthday to my sister Anneli Navarro-Christensen! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.

Comments

garytarugo said…
with the latest upset, baka nga JRU pa ang magchampion dyan eh. walang impossible.
6:31 PM
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