GAMES TODAY
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
12 p.m. – Opening Ceremony
2:30 p.m. – Mapua vs. Lyceum
5 p.m. – CSB vs. San Beda
WITH its format and title-hungry teams, fireworks are expected when the 101st season NCAA basketball tournament kicks off today, Wednesday, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Hosted by Mapua University with the theme “Building Greatness,” the country’s oldest collegiate league opens shop with a festive opening ceremony at noon to be followed by a thrilling double-header.
At 2:30 p.m, defending champion Mapua University, led by last season’s finals MVP Clint Escamis, opens its title-retention bid, clashing with Lyceum, while last year’s runner-up College of St. Benilde takes on San Beda University at 5 o’clock.
Significant developments this season will be implemented in the men’s cage wars.
Ten teams are bracketed into two pools for the group stage with crossover play, followed by an expanded playoff system.
The playoff will have a play-in game for the fourth seeds, a twice-to-beat advantage for the top two seeds of each group in the quarterfinals, and a best-of-three series for both the semifinals and the finals.
The Cardinals headline Pool A with the Pirates, Perpetual Help, San Sebastian College, and Arellano University.
In Pool B, the Blazers banner the group together with the Red Lions, Letran, Jose Rizal University, and Emilio Aguinaldo College.
NCAA management committee members Paul Supan of JRU and Dr. Lorenzo Lorenzo discussed the innovations for the tournament when they graced the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the conference hall of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex yesterday.
“Iyan ang gusto natin, maging exciting (ang tournament). Alam naman natin, like I said, we envisioned the new format to contribute to the interest and excitement of each match and couple this with the fact that all the teams, over the off-season, really recruited (and) really prepared for the Season 101, especially in basketball,” Supan said. “So, we hope that with all those preparations, the change in the format will translate to more exciting, more thrilling games na pag-uusapan ng ating mga fans sa darating na panahon.”
