Champs League: Best of collegiate caging
After one of the most hotly contested University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball seasons in memory that saw the De La Salle Green Archers sweep the favored University of the East Red Warriors for the coveted basketball title, the first championship encounter in 54 years between the San Beda College (SBC) Red Lions and the Letran Knights in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and various regional championships, now comes the Collegiate Champions League (CCL).
The CCL is an attempt of basketball aficionados and sportsmen led by former Shell executive, entrepreneur and STAR business columnist Rey Gamboa to bring together not just the much-hyped teams from Metro Manila-based basketball leagues such as the NCAA and the UAAP but also equally talented teams from other leagues in and around Metro Manila and from basketball hotbeds in the Visayas and Mindanao.
CCLs format calls for the top 16 collegiate teams in the
Teams come from, among others, the UAAP, NCAA, the Colleges and Universities Sports Association (CUSA), Visayas and
The teams competing are DLSU which is in Group A and ranked one. With the Archers are the following and their rank:
Group B is comprised of UE (4); STI Olympians (13); FEU (5) and
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The selection process of CCL basically follows the procedure employed by the US NCAA for the men’s division I basketball championship. The selection committee of the US NCAA determines which 65 teams will join the tournament known as “March Madness” and the team rankings. Of these teams, 30 have what is called automatic bids by virtue of winning their respective conference tournaments.
The 34 other teams, called at-large squads, rely on the selection committee to earn a spot in the tournament. These at-large teams come from college basketball’s major conferences like the Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 10.
Gamboa, who is CCL chairman, says that “to be called the greatest, one has to beat the best or one of the greatest. Such a cliché could not be more correct than in sports, particularly collegiate basketball where there are just too many teams and leagues, making it difficult to name the real king of college hoops.” Thus was born the CCL five years ago.
With the support of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) – Samahan ng Basketbolista ng Pilipinas (SBP), CCL organizes and manages the collegiate national championship as part of its contribution to the promotion and development of collegiate basketball.
Gamboa adds that the collegiate teams should look beyond just winning the championship of their respective leagues. Their aim, Gamboa insists, must be higher – that of being the national collegiate champion. A more fitting gauge of the team’s strength and skills is its ability to measure up to the challenge of other rivals beyond their borders. That’s what CCL’s collegiate national championship is all about – gather the best, and pick the best among the best, according to Gamboa.
CCL takes pride in the fact that the tough tournament makes each game an explosive must-win situation for all teams, no time for loafing around or resting on one’s laurels. The teams compete in a knock-out format where a single loss eliminates the loser. Last year’s champion was UE followed by San Beda, JRU and Mapua.
The champion of the league will have the distinction of being the best collegiate basketball team for the current season. The champion school will receive support from Fil-Oil Flying V for its scholarship/sports program amounting to P800,000. The first, second, third and fourth placers will receive P500,000; P200,000; P100,000 and P50,000 respectively. SMART will provide special awards, the foremost of which is the Most Valuable Player who will receive the M.V. Pangilinan award.
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