9th UCAA season unfolds; tight race seen

MANILA, Philippines - With the absence of last year’s champion, the basketball crown in the ninth UCAA (Universities and Colleges Athletic Association) season will be a tight race among the six participating teams.

Action starts today with three games at the Olivarez College Gym in Parañaque, and it was the common sentiment among the coaches that luck will play a big part in this year’s competition.

“Almost all the teams are equal in talent and strength. So, whoever gets lucky, whoever gets the break, will win it,” said coach Philip Cezar of the Philippine School of Business Administration.

The former member of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers in the PBA told yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s UN Avenue that the absence of Universal College, last year’s champion, makes it difficult to choose the favorite in the tournament which has Molten and Mikasa as official balls.

Universal College, along with Trace College, filed a leave of absence for this season, leaving six teams vying in basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball and beach volley, badminton, chess and lawn tennis.

Also gracing the forum presented by Outlast Battery, Shakey’s, Accel and Pagcor are the coaches of the different teams, including Yong Garcia of the Colegio de Santa Monico, the 2009 runner-up which took in six players from Universal College.

In today’s opener at 10 a.m., Santa Monico takes on Olivarez College while the Emilio Aguinaldo College squares off with PSBA. The last match for the day is between the Technological Institute of the Philippines and La Salle-Dasmariñas.

Narciso Hagos of Olivarez, who is this year’s UCAA president, also said the absence of the two teams will not affect the excitement which the league generates from the students of the participating teams.

He said two other schools, the De Ocampo College and NCBA (National College of Business and Arts) are knocking on their doors, and may be included in the roster starting next year.