Budding college cagers to strut stuff in Pinoyliga

MANILA, Philippines – Up-and-coming players in the collegiate level will have an opportunity to showcase their talent as 12 schools will see action in the second Pinoyliga Next Man cUP set to begin on Sunday, November 12, at Enderun College in Taguig City.

San Beda University will start its title retention campaign after Clifford Jopia — the Most Valuable Player of the inaugural season — led the Red Lions to the championship by beating the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates during the first Next Man cUP, a tournament organized by Pinoyliga.

“It’s a tournament for Team B, or the third stringers. Magkaroon sila ng burn time with the staging of the Next Man cUP, a competition for those not being seen in the UAAP and the NCAA,” said Pinoyliga co-founder Benny Benitez during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Conference Hall in Vito Cruz, Manila on Tuesday.

“We got 12 teams joining this year, teams from the UAAP and NCAA. Ang lalakas ng NCAA teams kasi they are preparing for the Season 100 (in 2024), while on the UAAP side the balance of power tilted with the emergence of UP,” he added.

Aside from San Beda, also joining this second edition of the Next Man cUP are University of the Philippines, University of the East, University of Santo Tomas and Adamson University from the UAAP, College of St. Benilde, LPU, Mapua, Emilio Aguinaldo College from the NCAA.

Batangas University and Enderun College are also joining the tournament.

The format will have the 12 teams play in a single round robin classification, a play-in tournament before the knockout playoffs. The Fighting Maroons and the Chiefs will face off for the opening game this Sunday as the matches will be played on weekends.

Aside from the Next Man cUP, Benitez’s Pinoyliga will also have the third season of the Collegiate Cup, as well as the regional championship where top teams from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will play in Manila for the Big Dance next year.

“We have the regional tournaments in the pipeline, we want to have a Big Dance. During the off-season big college teams go to the US, or Serbia then go hard with the local teams. What if we become the destination with international teams going here,” said Benitez.

“Isa sa gusto namin is that kind of atmosphere… tayo ang puntahan (foreign teams),” he said at the forum backed by the PSC, the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and San Miguel Corporation.