PCCL connects the missing link

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

UNLIKE in the United States that has only one recognized national college champion in the field of amateur basketball which is called NCAA, the Philippines has at least eight groups of colleges that have their own format of national basketball championships. Among these are the UAAP and the Philippine version of NCAA. The others are PRISAA, SCUAA, NAASCU, NCRAA, UCAA and NMCAA. Every year they have their own versions of champions trumpeting that they’re the national champion every time they win their respective college tournament. Basketball admirers and supporters (including this writer) are really confused and obviously there’s a missing link in this country’s amateur basketball. You don’t really know who-is-who in Philippines tertiary basketball supremacy. This has been the practice since the birth of national basketball collegiate tournaments, especially the most recognized and respected, the two oldest of the eight groups of sports’ institutions, the NCAA tourney which was born in 1924 and the UAAP in 1938.

It was in the late 1990s when there was a push by basketball aficionados, especially the top honchos in the country’s well-known tertiary schools to solve the confusion. And in the end after more than a year of negotiations, the confusion was solved and the PCCL (Philippine Collegiate Champions League) was created in 2002 with more than 250 teams from different regional areas nationwide participating now. Supported by the country’s basketball federation Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, better known as SBP, the format is similar to the U.S. NCAA and the first champion was the University of the East (UE). Records say UE duplicated its feat in 2006 but the first back-to-back champion was the Far Eastern University (FEU) bagging the 2003 and 2004 titles. UE and FEU belong to the UAAP faction, the group that has been dominating the annual tourney with De La Salle University (DLSU) capturing the crown in 2008 and five-time UAAP champion Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) taking the tiara three times, 2007, 2009 and 2010. But believe it or not, last year was NCAA’s time to seize the limelight with San Sebastian College (SSC) wresting the crown for the first time beating, ADMU in the finals, two games to one.

As of this writing (Friday), this year’s PCCL tourney is in progress. PCCL rules say this year’s UAAP winner ADMU and this season’s NCAA titlist San Beda are on standby-position and will only start their quest for the title during the semi-finals with Southwestern University taking the third berth for the semis by beating the highly regarded University of Visayas, 82-78, last Thursday. And by the time you read this piece, the last slot for the semis being fought by Adamson, Letran, University of Santo Tomas (UST) and SSC would already be finished. Although SSC is the defending champion of the league, SSC failed to win the NCAA diadem this year and so not entitled to an outright berth for the semis, PCCL rule also says. But SSC still has the good chance to be a back-to-back champion in this very prestigious national tilt if it hurdles all its remaining opponents like what it did last year. Yes, that will be a monumental task and many say they can do it again, hopefully. Let’s just wait and see. But let’s laud the management of PCCL headed by former PBA and MBA mentor Joe Lipa for fixing the confusion in school amateur basketball championship. PCCL stands as the missing link that the amateur league has been wanting for so many decades past.

What’s happening in the national scene is also happening in the local side. You heard about the annual PRISAA Dagupan-Pangasinan college basketball tourney and the yearly UCAA tiff of Urdaneta City. These two big college tournaments of the province each had their own champion annually. LNU is PRISAA’s champion this year and UEP (University of Eastern Pangasinan) is UCAA’s king this season. If you ask me, these two institutions should collide against each other in a familiar prestigious tournament including UPang-PHINMA and UL, among others, in the PRISAA tournament which is much older than the UCAA tilt, to know once and for all if who-is-really-who in Pangasinan caging. LNU’s head coach Angelito C. Gumarang is amenable and is daring to challenge the three schools anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Hopefully it will be done but I guess one of the three is not agreeable, perhaps fearing loss of reputation as one of the best coaches of the province. Let’s wait and see.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites. Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 CORINTHIANS 6: 9-10

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