IPPCA football pre-season Cup: Fancied Lions, Maroons open bid

MANILA, Philippines - College football gets into high gear starting today, when the 2012 Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) Football Pre-Season Cup kicks off with a nine-game bill at the Nuvali football grounds in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Brief kick-off rites at 9 a.m. usher in the month-long tournament organized by Filoil Flying V Sports and sponsored by Meralco, Nuvali, Nature’s Spring, Molten, N20 Gastropub, Boysen Paints, BDO, Topcoms/StarSports Korea, Bacchus, CDO San Marino Corned Tuna and Pingping Lechon.

Expected to grace the opening rites are representatives of the 15-member IPPCA, led by its president and league chairman Fer Martinez and officials of the organizing Filoil Flying V Sports led by league co-chair Joey Guillermo.

The IPPCA companies, which are bankrolling the tournament, are Chemrez Technologies Inc., Eastern Petroleum Corp., Filpride/USA88, Seaoil Philippines Inc., Flying V, Oilink, Unioil, International Engineer Phils., Inc., Filoil Energy Company, City Oil, Metro Oil Subic, Liquified Petroleum Gas Marketers Association, Omni Petroleum Corp, Trans Overseas Industrial Corp. and CLO Industrail Innovations and Solutions Inc.

Today’s seniors game pits  Arellano University against UST-Metroil at 10 a.m., followed by NCAA defending champion San Beda vs guest team University of Makati at 1 p.m., and longtime rivals Ateneo-Filoil vs De La Salle-Flying V at 3 p.m. in Pitch 2.

Over at Pitch 3,  National University tests the mettle of Philippine Christian University at 10 a.m., College of St. Benilde battles Perpetual at 1 p.m., and Far Eastern University goes up against back-to-back UAAP champion University of the Philippines-Eastern Petroleum at 3 p.m.

Three juniors games will open hostilities for the day at Pitch 1, with La Salle Greenhills taking on guest squad Holistic Education and Development Center at 10 a.m., UPHR Altalettes against the Letran Squires at 1 p.m. and the Lyceum Baby Pirates vs De La Salle Zobel at 3 p.m.