National College Basketball Tournament
Bleacher Talk
September 16, 2007
National College Basketball Tournament
As the various collegiate basketball leagues approach their respective playoff games every year, I always bring up the issue of the need for a genuine and united nationwide tournament that will bring the best of all leagues together for an ultimate showdown of the best of the best.
There’s nothing like seeing the champions of the UAAP and NCAA fending off the challenge of all the other leagues in the country whose main goal is to topple the “college powers.” Although the UAAP and NCAA championship is viewed to be more important to college teams, I’d like to believe that with the right mix of negotiating and careful review, a national tournament similar to that of the NCAA in the United Sates is feasible and can grow to be the ultimate tournament for which college teams will program their seasons.
For now, it looks like the Champions’ League of Rey Gamboa and Joe Lipa seems to have the edge over the other so-called national championships. The Champions’ League has seen the participation of the UAAP, NCAA and the other recognized leagues of the country, including Cebu’s CESAFI. UV has been a regular participant in the tournament and has reached the Final Four a couple of times in the past. Cebu has even hosted and participated in a regional leg of the tournament that has also been to Dumaguete and will be in Bacolod this year.
The National Students Basketball Championship (NSBC) that the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) has organized annually seems to have lost its luster. Its biggest blow was being snubbed by the champions of the UAAP and NCAA. The tournament’s defending champion is West Negros College of Bacolod. Some people have said that this seems to be an indicator that the NSBC is a minor league compared to the Champions’ League. Incidentally, UV, CESAFI champions for the past six years, has been skipping this tournament in favor of the Champions’ League.
The BAP wing of Graham Lim, however, looks unfazed as they have organized the Federation of Schools Sports Associations of the Philippines (FESSAP), a collection of different collegiate leagues in the country. While the name of the association sounds impressive, I didn’t see the likes of the UAAP, NCAA and CESAFI as part of the group. But I could be wrong.
Among the FESSAP’s key officers is Cebu’s Lorenzo “Chao” Sy who is the Vice President for Visayas. He is also the SBP-BAP’s director for Cebu. It’s not clear which Visayas collegiate league Sy represents, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the CESAFI. Since the FESSAP has the fingerprints of the old BAP group all over its cover, I’m guessing that this could be the next big tournament that they’re setting up to replace the NSBC.
Among the “other” national basketball tournaments include the Uni Games that are held in Bacolod every October or November, the national PRISAA tournament, and the CHED National Games. In Manila, a host of smaller collegiate leagues are held immediately after the end of the UAAP and NCAA seasons. The UAAP and NCAA teams usually send their second teams to these leagues with the goal of providing their farm team players the much-needed exposure while buying time before making it to the first team.
It’s clear that there are many attempts (noble and otherwise) to get the country united behind a national basketball championship to determine the year’s best collegiate team in the land. But at this point, no single league has really stood out to be recognized by basketball fans to be THE tournament. While the Champions’ League may have an edge, it still has a long way to go since it’s less than a decade old.
So which tournament will be the anointed one? It will be the tournament that won’t make schools feel as if they were being exploited by organizers who are out there more for the bottom line more than wanting to know who deserves to be called the national champion. It will be the tournament that will include in its programs activities to develop the sport nationwide. It will be the tournament that gives back to schools and the leagues that form part of its structure.
Our task as basketball fans is to find out which among all these leagues can do all of the above. This is the league that deserves our support because its thrusts are genuine and goals are noble.
And so we ask again. Which league will it be?
September 16, 2007
National College Basketball Tournament
As the various collegiate basketball leagues approach their respective playoff games every year, I always bring up the issue of the need for a genuine and united nationwide tournament that will bring the best of all leagues together for an ultimate showdown of the best of the best.
There’s nothing like seeing the champions of the UAAP and NCAA fending off the challenge of all the other leagues in the country whose main goal is to topple the “college powers.” Although the UAAP and NCAA championship is viewed to be more important to college teams, I’d like to believe that with the right mix of negotiating and careful review, a national tournament similar to that of the NCAA in the United Sates is feasible and can grow to be the ultimate tournament for which college teams will program their seasons.
For now, it looks like the Champions’ League of Rey Gamboa and Joe Lipa seems to have the edge over the other so-called national championships. The Champions’ League has seen the participation of the UAAP, NCAA and the other recognized leagues of the country, including Cebu’s CESAFI. UV has been a regular participant in the tournament and has reached the Final Four a couple of times in the past. Cebu has even hosted and participated in a regional leg of the tournament that has also been to Dumaguete and will be in Bacolod this year.
The National Students Basketball Championship (NSBC) that the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) has organized annually seems to have lost its luster. Its biggest blow was being snubbed by the champions of the UAAP and NCAA. The tournament’s defending champion is West Negros College of Bacolod. Some people have said that this seems to be an indicator that the NSBC is a minor league compared to the Champions’ League. Incidentally, UV, CESAFI champions for the past six years, has been skipping this tournament in favor of the Champions’ League.
The BAP wing of Graham Lim, however, looks unfazed as they have organized the Federation of Schools Sports Associations of the Philippines (FESSAP), a collection of different collegiate leagues in the country. While the name of the association sounds impressive, I didn’t see the likes of the UAAP, NCAA and CESAFI as part of the group. But I could be wrong.
Among the FESSAP’s key officers is Cebu’s Lorenzo “Chao” Sy who is the Vice President for Visayas. He is also the SBP-BAP’s director for Cebu. It’s not clear which Visayas collegiate league Sy represents, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the CESAFI. Since the FESSAP has the fingerprints of the old BAP group all over its cover, I’m guessing that this could be the next big tournament that they’re setting up to replace the NSBC.
Among the “other” national basketball tournaments include the Uni Games that are held in Bacolod every October or November, the national PRISAA tournament, and the CHED National Games. In Manila, a host of smaller collegiate leagues are held immediately after the end of the UAAP and NCAA seasons. The UAAP and NCAA teams usually send their second teams to these leagues with the goal of providing their farm team players the much-needed exposure while buying time before making it to the first team.
It’s clear that there are many attempts (noble and otherwise) to get the country united behind a national basketball championship to determine the year’s best collegiate team in the land. But at this point, no single league has really stood out to be recognized by basketball fans to be THE tournament. While the Champions’ League may have an edge, it still has a long way to go since it’s less than a decade old.
So which tournament will be the anointed one? It will be the tournament that won’t make schools feel as if they were being exploited by organizers who are out there more for the bottom line more than wanting to know who deserves to be called the national champion. It will be the tournament that will include in its programs activities to develop the sport nationwide. It will be the tournament that gives back to schools and the leagues that form part of its structure.
Our task as basketball fans is to find out which among all these leagues can do all of the above. This is the league that deserves our support because its thrusts are genuine and goals are noble.
And so we ask again. Which league will it be?
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