Ateneo leads Champions League "Sweet 16" Finalists

September 22, 2009

Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles, UAAP defending champion and runner-up in the 2008 Philippine Collegiate Championship games, and seven teams from UAAP and NCAA have secured their place in the “Sweet 16” Finals of the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship.

Joining the Blue Eagles are the FEU Tamaraws, UE Warriors, UST Golden Tigers, San Sebastian College-Recoletos Stags, San Beda Red Lions, JRU Heavy Bombers and Letran Knights. The first four are with the UAAP and the rest are with the NCAA.

Reynaldo D. Gamboa, chairman of Philippine Collegiate Champions League, announced that eight more slots are to be filled up. One seat is reserved for the champion of the ongoing CESAFI competitions at Cebu City where the University of Cebu Webmasters are currently leading with University of Visayas Green Lancers and University of San Jose Recoletos Jaguars closely following.

Seven seats to the “Sweet 16” Finals are at stake at the zonal qualifying games scheduled to be held starting November in Naga City, Cebu City, and Metro Manila.

De La Salle University Green Archers, last year’s Philippine Collegiate Champion and 6th placer in the UAAP this year, and the Adamson University Falcons, UAAP 5th placer this year, are solid favorites to barge into the finals via the zonal games. The Green Archers will be in Naga City for the games on November 12 to 14 while the Falcons are competing in the Cebu City games scheduled on November 4 to 8.

The 5th and 6th placers in the NCAA will also advance to the zonal games with a chance to earn seats in the “Sweet 16” Finals. At present, Arellano University Chiefs, College of Saint Benilde Blazers and Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals are in contention.

All the games in the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship “Sweet 16” Finals will be covered by the ABS-CBN television network and aired nationwide on Channel 23 with replays on Balls. PLDT and Smart Communications are the major sponsors of this event.