NAASCU opens 14th season with 10-team list

MANILA, Philippines - The 14th season of the National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (Naascu) gets going on Aug. 12 with a promise of a bigger staging with 10 teams vying for top honors in the centerpiece basketball competitions. 

Dr. Jay Adalem, chairman emeritus and founder of Naascu, guaranteed an exciting Naascu season during yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate. The elaborate opening rites will be held at the University of Makati.

Other events on tap are volleyball, chess, badminton, billiards, triathlon, table tennis, taekwondo, swimming, cheerdance and hip-hop competition.

Centro Escolar U will be shooting for a title repeat in basketball but former champion St. Claire, New Era U, Our Lady of Fatima, Rizal Technological U, University of Pasay, Philippine University of the Philippines, Philippine Christian U, Lyceum Subic and University of Makati will be out to foil its back-to-back bid.

Not all teams, however, will be represented in the other events although Adalem, also the treasurer of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and sec-gen of the Philippine Handball Federation, is encouraging the others to work on full participation to be able to vie for the overall championship.

CEU and St. Claire will kick off hostilities in basketball with Senators Peter Alan Cayetano and Pia Cayetano as special guests during the inaugurals.

This year’s Naascu president is Dr. Ray Adalem of host St. Claire College of Calookan.

Spicing up the basketball competition is the presence of a number of foreign players, mostly from Cameroon, as reinforcements. Adalem said St. Claire alone is fielding Cameroon players in its junior and seniors teams.

“It’s not only in the UAAP and the NCAA. We at Naascu are also trying to bring our games to the higher level. We expect better rivalry this year,” said Adalem.