Sunday, January 13, 2008 BAP-SBP to hold nat’l champions league
PLANS to unite the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National Collegiate Athletic Association may have been botched but this is not stopping the Basketball Association of the Philippines-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP) to put up bigger plans for collegiate basketball.
At first, unification plans were solely focused on the two leagues in Manila, but with the new plans hatched, it now includes the other stakeholders from the rest of the country.
BAP-SBPcombined initiatives with the organizers of the Philippine Champions’ League to come up with a bigger inter-collegiate competition later this year.
The PCL, which is organized by a private entity, will be scrapped to make way for the 2008 National Collegiate Championship, making it official that the BAP-SBP has an answer to the Zonals being staged by BAP
“We cannot stop our member-schools from joining the zonals. But this is not sanctioned by BAP-SBP as a federation. However, it will be good to know that they can look forward to our very own competition, which is bigger and more full-blown,” Gregorio said.
“It will strengthen the national collegiate championships, which Cebu’s University of the Visayas is a runnerup of in 2007,” said BAP-SBP executive director Patrick Gregorio.
The difference between the Champion’s League and the new version is that the Champions’ League was organized privately and only sanctioned by BAP-SBP, champions from different leagues have the option not to join.
With the new one, which BAP-SBP will be handling, they will be forced to compete.
Last time, UAAP champs De La Salle University and University of the East did not join in the previous Champions’ League.
With this, the leagues will go on their regular competitions with their champions earning slots to the national championships.
There will be more than national pride at stake as Gregorio added that this competition will have the champion competing in the World University Games in Serbia next year. (MCB)
