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Sports

NCAA set for March 26 opening

Sports

NCAA set for March 26 opening

By Reynald I. Magallon

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is set to roll out the red carpet for its 97th season on March 26 – the same day that the University Athletic Association of the Philippines will also open its 84th year and finally the return of the college basketball after a two-year lull due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NCAA opening is tentatively to be staged at the La Salle Greenhills gym.

NCAA schools are expected to intensify their preparations in the next few weeks once the alert level restrictions ease up in Metro Manila. Top officials from the NCR have already sent their recommendation to the IATF to downgrade Metro Manila’s status to Alert Level 1.

Some NCAA teams are even eyeing tune-up games against the UAAP schools as part of their respective build-ups for the league return.

“We are hoping the restrictions to ease up by the start of March, and that would give us blanket authority to hold tune-up games,” said NCAA management committee member Peter Cayco of Arellano.

Cayco even revealed that Arellano has already set scrimmages against UAAP teams University of the East and National University which are also both in the middle of its preparations for the UAAP opening.

“The idea is to play against teams from the UAAP so we (NCAA teams) get to keep our cards close to our chest,” he added.

Meanwhile, NCAA powerhouse teams San Beda Red Lions and Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights are also in the middle of their pre-season buildups with the former using its Taytay Campus for the bubble training while the latter is inside the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City where it also plans to play the Fighting Maroons in a closed-in tune-up games before the leagues start.

The games will be played live, albeit without audience, right after a taped opening ceremony via GMA Network.

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