Good News, Bad News
Bleacher Talk
Feb. 24, 2008
Good News, Bad News
First the good news. Cebu is hosting a national-level basketball tournament called the National Students Basketball Championship (NSBC). This starts tomorrow and will last until early next week. For such a feat, the local basketball family must be jumping for joy and proudly telling the whole country about it. After all, this is a national thing, isn’t it? But why aren’t we doing just that? Why aren’t Cebu’s basketball leaders trumpeting the event in the same way that the local Cebu horse owners group proudly hosted the Governor’s Cup last week? Even the drag racing competition at the SRP seems to be a louder event, and it’s technically only for the rich and their fancy cars.
I’m afraid this is where the bad news comes in. The NSBC is not as “national” as it really is. While the ‘NSBC” as a tournament title indicates that it’s a national collegiate tournament, it just isn’t. The only thing national about this is that the country’s different regions of are represented. Outside of that, it might just turn out to be something else. Given the level of competition of the teams playing in the tournament, I’m afraid the use of the title “national” might just backfire on the event’s organizers. In the end, the NSBC is going to simply become the BAP’s national collegiate tournament, but not the country’s official collegiate championship.
Let’s face it. When sports organizers and fans talk about a “national” tournament, they expect the best of the best to be part of the tournament. Fans will be looking forward to watching intense basketball action featuring the best of all regions. The big question here is if this is what the NSBC has to offer for fans in the coming week. A quick look at the roster of teams participating in the tournament is sure to draw more raised eyebrows than smiles of excitement and anticipation. Is this the kind of reaction events managers want?
I have nothing against the participation of Cebu’s UV, USC and SWU, but where are the country’s best collegiate teams? Where is De La Salle, Ateneo, FEU, San Beda or Letran? I must admit that I’m not at all familiar with all the other schools playing in the tournament, and I’ll apologize in advance to these schools for the slip-up. But I also suggest that we ask the ordinary basketball fans if they’re familiar with all these visiting teams. If the fans are familiar with all the schools that will be here in the next few days, then I apologize again. Maybe they are the best teams out there after all.
While all this might sound surprising, it really isn’t such a new development at all. The BAP-organized NSBC has long been ignored and given very low importance by the big boys of college ball from the UAAP and NCAA. I’ve stopped counting, but I can’t remember the last time a legitimate UAAP or NCAA champion joined an NSBC tournament. For the record, the last NSBC champion is West Negros College of Bacolod (if memory serves me right). On the local front, UV and SWU won NSBC championships in the 90s, but have stayed away this past decade.
If the big boys aren’t paying too much attention to the NSBC, then which national league are they supporting? Actually, their loyalty is stronger to their “home” leagues more than a national level tournament. The likes of Ateneo, UE and De La Salle will always look at the UAAP championship as the ultimate goal of a season. Anything else is just a bonus. On the other side, San Beda, Letran and the rest of the NCAA family also consider the NCAA championship as the only real thing that matters.
The Collegiate Champions’ League (CCL) is the other tournament that has made that bold attempt to become THE national collegiate tournament of the country, obviously competing with the NSBC for bragging rights in this department. And if we are to gauge its level of competition and over-all organization, it looks like the CCL has a brighter potential than the NSBC. But then again, it’s too early to declare it as being better than the NSBC since the league is less than a decade old. Neither did it help when UAAP champions De La Salle decided to pull out from the 2007 tournament at the last-minute.
The other even worse news is that once again, the split between the two major factions that were supposed to have united one under one umbrella organization is highlighted anew. I’ll no longer go into details of this intramurals but one thing clear is that the basketball family isn’t united on this issue with each side claiming to have the solutions to all our problems.
I find it rather odd that while it looked like the BAP-SBP had made little achievements along the way, the BAP seems to be hell-bent on going its own way. The NSBC is just another feature of this split. It sure looks like the BAP doesn’t appreciate the way the other “boys” are running the show and you can be sure they’ll have more to say in every major issue or event.
Like it or not. Today is a sad day in Philippine basketball. But then again, let’s not give it anymore importance so that it doesn’t get blown out of proportion. Let the BAP’s “national” tournament go on if only to prove a point.
**
Time-out: Happy birthday to Chuchay Verches and Gigi Parco! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com or 0923-342-8193 (for SunCell subscribers).
Feb. 24, 2008
Good News, Bad News
First the good news. Cebu is hosting a national-level basketball tournament called the National Students Basketball Championship (NSBC). This starts tomorrow and will last until early next week. For such a feat, the local basketball family must be jumping for joy and proudly telling the whole country about it. After all, this is a national thing, isn’t it? But why aren’t we doing just that? Why aren’t Cebu’s basketball leaders trumpeting the event in the same way that the local Cebu horse owners group proudly hosted the Governor’s Cup last week? Even the drag racing competition at the SRP seems to be a louder event, and it’s technically only for the rich and their fancy cars.
I’m afraid this is where the bad news comes in. The NSBC is not as “national” as it really is. While the ‘NSBC” as a tournament title indicates that it’s a national collegiate tournament, it just isn’t. The only thing national about this is that the country’s different regions of are represented. Outside of that, it might just turn out to be something else. Given the level of competition of the teams playing in the tournament, I’m afraid the use of the title “national” might just backfire on the event’s organizers. In the end, the NSBC is going to simply become the BAP’s national collegiate tournament, but not the country’s official collegiate championship.
Let’s face it. When sports organizers and fans talk about a “national” tournament, they expect the best of the best to be part of the tournament. Fans will be looking forward to watching intense basketball action featuring the best of all regions. The big question here is if this is what the NSBC has to offer for fans in the coming week. A quick look at the roster of teams participating in the tournament is sure to draw more raised eyebrows than smiles of excitement and anticipation. Is this the kind of reaction events managers want?
I have nothing against the participation of Cebu’s UV, USC and SWU, but where are the country’s best collegiate teams? Where is De La Salle, Ateneo, FEU, San Beda or Letran? I must admit that I’m not at all familiar with all the other schools playing in the tournament, and I’ll apologize in advance to these schools for the slip-up. But I also suggest that we ask the ordinary basketball fans if they’re familiar with all these visiting teams. If the fans are familiar with all the schools that will be here in the next few days, then I apologize again. Maybe they are the best teams out there after all.
While all this might sound surprising, it really isn’t such a new development at all. The BAP-organized NSBC has long been ignored and given very low importance by the big boys of college ball from the UAAP and NCAA. I’ve stopped counting, but I can’t remember the last time a legitimate UAAP or NCAA champion joined an NSBC tournament. For the record, the last NSBC champion is West Negros College of Bacolod (if memory serves me right). On the local front, UV and SWU won NSBC championships in the 90s, but have stayed away this past decade.
If the big boys aren’t paying too much attention to the NSBC, then which national league are they supporting? Actually, their loyalty is stronger to their “home” leagues more than a national level tournament. The likes of Ateneo, UE and De La Salle will always look at the UAAP championship as the ultimate goal of a season. Anything else is just a bonus. On the other side, San Beda, Letran and the rest of the NCAA family also consider the NCAA championship as the only real thing that matters.
The Collegiate Champions’ League (CCL) is the other tournament that has made that bold attempt to become THE national collegiate tournament of the country, obviously competing with the NSBC for bragging rights in this department. And if we are to gauge its level of competition and over-all organization, it looks like the CCL has a brighter potential than the NSBC. But then again, it’s too early to declare it as being better than the NSBC since the league is less than a decade old. Neither did it help when UAAP champions De La Salle decided to pull out from the 2007 tournament at the last-minute.
The other even worse news is that once again, the split between the two major factions that were supposed to have united one under one umbrella organization is highlighted anew. I’ll no longer go into details of this intramurals but one thing clear is that the basketball family isn’t united on this issue with each side claiming to have the solutions to all our problems.
I find it rather odd that while it looked like the BAP-SBP had made little achievements along the way, the BAP seems to be hell-bent on going its own way. The NSBC is just another feature of this split. It sure looks like the BAP doesn’t appreciate the way the other “boys” are running the show and you can be sure they’ll have more to say in every major issue or event.
Like it or not. Today is a sad day in Philippine basketball. But then again, let’s not give it anymore importance so that it doesn’t get blown out of proportion. Let the BAP’s “national” tournament go on if only to prove a point.
**
Time-out: Happy birthday to Chuchay Verches and Gigi Parco! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com or 0923-342-8193 (for SunCell subscribers).
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