NCAA lines up busy sked for Season 90

MANILA, Philippines - The NCAA will be holding a Saturday game starting this season, making it a four-day weekly offering in a bid to shorten the basketball tournament after an extended season last year.

“This is the league’s answer to questions on how long our Season 90 will last,” said Management Committee chair Paul Supan of host Jose Rizal University after Wednesday’s board meeting at the JRU campus in Mandaluyong City.

Supan added that they have re-scheduled the seniors’ matches from 12 noon and 2 p.m. from 4 and 6 p.m. while the juniors’ games will be played at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. from 12 noon and 2 p.m. last year.

As this developed, official coveror TV5 will telecast live all second games of the Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule and the Saturday game, set at 12:30 p.m. simultaneous on TV5 and its affiliate free sports channel Aksyon TV at 2 p.m.

The first games during Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will be televised also live on AksyonTV.

“We’re happy with the new agreement,” said Supan.

It can be recalled that Season 89 spilled into the second semester for the first time in league history due to postponements caused by inclement weather and the league giving way to the FIBA-Asia Championship at the MOA Arena in Pasay City for 11 days in August.

Jose Rizal and last year’s titlist San Beda will clash in the opener at 12 noon on June 28 while last year’s runner-up Letran tangles with San Sebastian at 2 p.m.

League and JRU president Dr. Vincent Fabella said they have prepared an opening number to remember with Luis Miguel tapped as art director for the league’s Season 90 which has “Today’s Heroes, Tomorrow’s Legends – NCAA @90: We Make History” as this year’s theme.

Other schools competing are St. Benilde, Mapua, Perpetual Help, Arellano U, Emilio Aguinaldo and Lyceum.