One and only

Solar Sports’ basketball properties marketing manager Vitto Lazatin called it the Philippine version of “March Madness” in reference to the US NCAA Division I tournament where the country’s top collegiate teams square off in single-knockout fashion until only one is left standing.

The local edition is organized by the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL). It was conceived in 2002 and so far, has crowned five champions – UE in 2002-03, FEU in 2003-04, FEU once more in 2004-05, UE in 2006-07 and Ateneo last season.

The league is made up of several Metro Manila leagues – including UAAP, NCAA, NCAA South, NCRAA, UCAA, NAASCU and CUSA – and at least 20 other associations in Davao, Iloilo, Bohol, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Cebu, Zamboanga, Pangasinan, Baguio, Ormoc, Tacloban, General Santos, Naga and Sorsogon, among others. Qualifying competitions were held before finalizing the “Sweet 16” cast.

Over 200 schools participated in provincial, regional, wildcard and zonal eliminations which started last July. The culmination of it all is the “Sweet 16” battle royale.

It was league chairman Rey Gamboa’s dream to draw up a competition format where the top local collegiate team will emerge. Gamboa, a former PBA chairman with Shell, never gave up on his dream even as at the onset, getting the different leagues and schools to participate in a unifying tournament was a daunting mission. Gamboa persevered and year after year, more teams joined the fold.

PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad was tapped to oversee the operations of the championship phase three years ago and has once again been appointed to supervise the competition this season, a tribute to his efficient leadership.

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“There are about 212 competitive college basketball teams in the country from approximately 27 different leagues but there is no single tournament that puts them all together to find the best one and declare a national champion – until the PCCL came along,” said Lazatin.

The main PCCL tournament or the “Sweet 16” will assemble the best collegiate squads from all over the nation to compete in a two-week, single knockout tournament starting tomorrow. Of the 16 spots, eight were allocated to Ateneo as UAAP champion, De La Salle University as UAAP runner-up, San Beda as NCAA champion, Jose Rizal as NCAA runner-up, Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU) as CUSA champion, San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Cavite (SSC-R) as NAASCU champion, Universal College of Nursing as UCAA champion and University of Visayas (UV) as CESAFI champion.

The other eight spots were filled by teams that survived the four-zonal eliminations early this month. They were Mapua and Arellano from Zone 1, UE and Lyceum from Zone 2, University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR) and Letran from Zone 3 and FEU and University of San Carlos (USC) from Zone 4.

Failing to make the grade in the zonals were St. Louis University, University of Luzon, Lyceum Batangas and UST in Zone 1, University of Nueva Caceres, Don Bosco Mandaluyong, Emilio Aguinaldo College and St. Clare College in Zone 2, BIT International College, AMA Computer Ormoc, University of Cebu and West Negros University in Zone 3 and Xavier University Cagayan de Oro, University of Mindanao, Ateneo de Zamboanga and Capitol University in Zone 4.

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The round of 16 reels off tomorrow with a doubleheader at the San Juan Arena – Ateneo vs Lyceum and San Beda vs USJR. The round of eight begins Nov. 30 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig. The round of four will be on Dec. 6 at the San Juan Arena. The championship game is set Dec. 8 at the San Juan Arena.

Four straight wins will guarantee the title. In one bracket are Ateneo, Lyceum, MLQU, Mapua, Jose Rizal, FEU, SSC-R and Letran while the other bracket consists of San Beda, USJR, Universal, Arellano, DLSU, USC, UV and UE. That means if Ateneo and La Salle win three in a row, they’ll face off for the championship.

All games will be broadcast on CS9 and Basketball TV. The title match will be aired live on BTV at 4 p.m. on Dec. 8.

“Since the tournament features a knockout format, all games are must-win situations for the 16 teams,” said Lazatin. “Simply put, one loss and you’re out.”

In the bag for the winning school are P500,000, the title of 2008 national champion and a ticket to represent the country at the World University Games in June next year in Serbia. For the first time ever, a slot has been reserved for the Philippines in the Universiade and the PCCL titleholder will carry the country’s colors in the 25th edition of the biennial event in Belgrade.

This is the tournament that will decide the country’s No. 1 college basketball team and as the NBA slogan goes, there can only be one.