Basketball after NBA

Now that Celtic fans have recovered from their hangovers and parties celebrating Boston ’s league-leading 17th NBA title, the local basketball world is now on the search for the next basketball action to follow. What’s on the table for us?

While the NBA will always be the NBA and no other league can match its popularity, we have many other leagues that deserve attention and that provide us with good quality basketball. For starters, the start of the schoolyear also means the start of the collegiate basketball season. The first league to launch its games is the NCAA, now on its 84th season. Games of the oldest-running league kick off this weekend with the usual elaborate and colorful opening day ceremonies. Teams to watch out for are San Beda and Letran. It doesn’t look like strong threats will be coming from other teams although Mapua and JRU always give the favorites a scare each time they meet.

The UAAP and all the other Manila-based collegiate leagues are due to open within the next weeks. Like international boxing, the collegiate scene looks like a collection of all sorts of alphabet-laced nicknames that crowd the fans for attention. But the two that stick out as tops are undoubtedly the UAAP and NCAA.

The UAAP has risen to become the most admired collegiate league in the country, thanks to the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry and the balanced level of competition that has the likes of UE, UST and FEU having equal chances of winning the championship. Every Ateneo-La Salle game always draws full-house crowds at the Araneta Coliseum, and this has rubbed off on the fans of other teams. The league’s unique combination of school, student and alumni support is easily the best in the land, and this is the very root of the league’s success. One of the most remarkable indicators of how popular the league is are the ratings of its games that are televised live over Studio 23. There are reports that the league’s TV audience is even bigger than that of the PBA.

.On the local front, preparations are underway for the staging of the CESAFI 2008 season which kicks off on August 3. As expected, the UV Lancers are favored to win their eighth straight championship, but common talk is that USJR, SWU and USC have very realistic chances of breaking UV’s winning streak. For once in their historic run, UV actually finds itself in a vulnerable position. As all teams prepare for the upcoming season, I’m sure this year will be bigger than last year’s games which broke CESAFI records in terms of attendance and following.

Regional basketball has gotten a shot in the arm with the rise of the Liga Pilipinas under the direction of BAP-SBP Executive Director and former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala. The “Liga” kicked off its season last Wednesday with two separate pocket tournaments being held simultaneously in Ilocos Sur and Cagayan de Oro. Over in Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur, The Cebu Niños finished the elimination round of the tournament in a three-way tie for first with a 2-1 record. They’ll be going into yesterday’s semifinal round as the # 2 seed facing Taguig Batang Global. The other teams seeing action there are Ilocos Sur and Quezon. The four teams playing in Cagayan de Oro are host MisOr, Pagadian, Laguna and Baguio . The championship of both mini tournaments will be held today.

In the youth sector, the Best SBP/Passerelle tournament sponsored by Milo will also kick off around August. Sacred Heart School-Jesuit will be hard-pressed to defend its double championships up against the challenge of traditional powers USC North, USC South and upstart UC.  The Cebu front is preparing its schedule as it aligns itself with the Best Center ’s national calendar. The Visayas regional championship is to be held on November 8-9 in Bacolod , while the national finals is to take place on November 21-22 in Davao .

And before I forget. The PBA is in the midst of its Smart Fiesta Conference that features imports. It’s a tight race for the top five spots in the standings with Air 21 on top with a 10-6 record. But right behind their backs are Red Bull (9-6), Coca-Cola (9-7), Magnolia (9-7) and Alaska (8-7).

So take your pick, sit back and relax. The NBA is done but there’s still a lot of basketball action.

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Time-out: To all members of ASMS Batch 1983: The three-day 25th Anniversary Reunion is on from June 27-29. You can reach me at [email protected].