MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Collegiate Champions League is and has been a great idea – the top college teams from all over the country coming together for one massive tournament much like the US NCAA. During their early years, it was exactly like that, but not everyone took the league seriously. Then they went from the Team A players to include those incoming for the next season. And now it’s an NCAA-UAAP affair.
So much for being a national championship. Thus, in my opinion, the PCCL is struggling for legitimacy.
To be fair, it is really hard since the PCCL takes place months after the NCAA and the UAAP. It seems everything that happens is anti-climactic. The logistics and cost of covering a nationwide tournament is staggering, and that really hurts the tournament organizers. Even worse, not all the collegiate leagues or even scholastic calendars take place at the same time; some colleges open in June with their tourneys taking place in July while others open in August with their hoops competitions in September. That hurts the PCCL in terms of scheduling. And do teams really take it seriously? It is used as a development for the holdovers and newcomers; any trophy is a bonus.
The NBTC came close to this even if only on a high school level. While I think the involvement of Filipino teams from abroad helps, it does take something out of the tourney
Here to our mind are a few ideas on how to make this tournament the huge one that it truly deserves.
Work with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas in a unified collegiate basketball calendar
Moving the school calendars will be much harder. But why not get the SBP’s help in making sure that the road to the national championship starts in say, June? The NCAA, UAAP, CESAFI, NAASCU, NOPSCEA and other leagues should be represented in a massive press conference that precedes all the individual leagues. You have to bring in the other leagues.
Having a fixed calendar for the national championship will helps. It really looks bad when you do not know if there will be a PCCL tourney this year, much more what dates they are played.
If the spirit of amateurism is still alive (frankly, it isn’t and it is but a myth in this Philippine setting), then the national championship trophy should have one look every single year. Is there an additional prize? What makes it worth it? Cash prizes throw the spirit of collegiate competition out of the window? A stint abroad as a prize? That money is better spent in ensuring that the local tournament runs smoothly and for other expenses (because traveling for games is a very costly endeavor).
Every basketball party should have a hand in making this a prestigious tournament
It sounds easy but it isn’t. Everyone wants a piece of the pie and we really aren’t sure if they want others to dip in their sandbox.
But the organizers have to try. Or else, well, we’ll continue to see teams not take this tournament very seriously. And then Philippine Collegiate Championship League will sound like it has the wrong name to it.