Opening of NAGA and NCAA basketball leagues

July 1, 2009

Congratulations to the “early birds” for this year’s collegiate basketball season, the Naga Inter-collegiate Basketball Challenge and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The Naga City league opened its 5th season last June 18 with seven teams participating, namely, Ateneo de Naga Golden Knights Team A & B, University of Nueva Caceres Greyhounds, Naga College Foundation Tigers, Universidad de Sta. Isabel Vincentians, Partido State University Blue Cimarrons and CCDI Panthers. The Naga League Champion will advance to the South Luzon-Bicol Regional Championship phase of the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship games.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the oldest collegiate league in the Philippines, opened its 85th season last Saturday, June 27. In his opening ceremony speech, league president Fr. Mat de Jesus, OSB of host San Beda College, stated that “NCAA is now more than just big in terms of number. The NCAA now is greater than it ever was because it has developed itself as difference-making force in developing sports, promoting sportsmanship, harnessing competitive spirit, forging strong inter-collegiate ties and realizing educational synergy.”

The top four teams of the 10-team NCAA tournament are automatically seeded to the “Sweet 16” Finals of the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship games. The fifth and sixth NCAA placers, on the other hand, will join the South Luzon-Bicol – Metro Manila and the VisMin-Metro Manila Zonal Qualifying games to earn seats in the “Sweet 16” Finals.