After failing to create a super league unifying the NCAA and the UAAP, the BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is now pursuing a bigger project featuring the cream of collegiate teams in what could be labeled the national championship.
SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan presented the program in a meeting yesterday at Makati Shangri-La with some school leaders including Bro. Bernie Oca of La Salle, Junjun Capistrano of Ateneo, Herc Callanta of UP, Paul Supan of JRU, Ding Lozano of Mapua and Henry Atayde of St. Benilde.
“It was a fellowship meeting hosted by Mr. Manny V. Pangilinan for the friends of SBP. It was a brainstorming, and the school officials helped analyze how everybody can help SBP. The consensus was that let’s play together, disputing a national championship,” said SBP executive director Patrick Gregorio.
The proposed UAAP-NCAA joint league has been left in the hands of UP officials who are now just looking for a pre-season tourney also to be held as part of the grand centennial celebration of the state university. The UAAP board nixed the planned merger.
“We’re still thankful with the wonderful hype generated by the proposal. Now, we would like to share the real vision of Mr. Pangilinan which is a national collegiate championship,” said Gregorio.
The inaugural SBP national collegiate championship, which is going to be a home-and-away event, is slated in the fourth week of November up to the first week of December. Regional eliminations start as early as March.
Gregorio said Rey Gamboa and Joe Lipa, organizers of the Champions League, have been requested to be the project director and deputy project director, respectively.
Scholarship funds and the right to represent the country in the 2009 World University Games in Serbia are at stake in the inaugural championship. – Nelson Beltran