Manila: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 101 will unfold on Wednesday with defending champion and host Mapua University (MU) facing Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) in the men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The MU Cardinals and the LPU Pirates square off at 2:30 p.m. followed by the game between the College of Saint Benilde (CSB) Blazers and the San Beda University (SBU) Red Lions at 5 p.m.
According to Philippines News Agency, Philippine Sports Commission Chairperson Patrick Gregorio will serve as guest speaker during the opening ceremony, starting at 12 noon. Entertainment will be provided by singers Thea Astley, Hannah Precillas, Naya Ambi, and Aicelle Santos. ‘It’s easy to remember. Season 101. And we’ll open on October 1. 10-1. So things like that. And with this year’s theme “Building Greatness,” I’m sure for the past 100 years of NCAA, you’ve seen student-athletes rise to the elite level. So in the next 100 years in coordination with the PSC and member schools, we hope to sustain our contribution to the national training pool,’ Jose Rizal University athletic director Paul Supan said in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Emilio Aguinaldo College Vice President for Administration Dr. Lorenzo Lorenzo, who also attended the weekly session, said that in line with the NCAA’s goal of providing the national training pool with potential members, the league has included gymnastics, weightlifting, boxing, and golf as demonstration sports in this year’s calendar of events, to be played in the second semester. ‘The NCAA and PSC have a partnership in terms of training and developing these grassroots athletes,’ Lorenzo said.
Under NCAA rules, a demonstration sport that has been played for three straight years can be elevated to regular status, subject to certain conditions. Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, a graduate of CSB, delivered the country’s first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Gymnast Carlo Yulo won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Basketball, which has a new format, will be held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, the NCAA’s original home. ‘This is our home and most of us will acknowledge, the NCAA really started here,’ Supan said. ‘The direction really is to eventually ensure that all of the games in the eliminations and semis, basically, were going back to our home base.’
The junior basketball games featuring Mapua against Lyceum and St. Benilde against San Beda are scheduled on Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Taekwondo, swimming, lawn tennis, and hopefully, football will be played at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex while track and field will be at Philsports in Pasig City.