The stage is set for powerhouse teams College of St. Benilde and De La Salle University to test their new recruits in the off-season as they vie for the title in the Pinoyliga NEXT MAN cUP set to begin this month.

Now on its third season, the tournament will be the stage for the highly touted high flying guard SJ Moore of the Blazers to showcase his talent for his new team CSB, which signed him a few months back.

The 6-foot-2 Moore spent his freshman year with University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP but saw little action with the Tigers. After he got his release, St. Benilde picked up Moore, who is eligible to play in the NCAA in Season 101 after the required one-year residency.

As for the Green Archers, they will be deep in talent for the next two years as they bolstered their unit with top prospects in guard Jacob Cortez and Kean Baclaan, as well as big guys in Luis Pablo and Mason Amos.

Cortez helped the San Beda Red Lions win the NCAA men’s basketball title during Season 99, while Baclaac, Pablo and Amos all suited up in the UAAP for NU, UP and Ateneo, respectively.

CSB and La Salle battled in the finals with the Blazers of coach Charles Tiu besting the Archers in the single championship match in the NEXT MAN cUP Season 2 last March.

Aside from CSB and La Salle, also in the mix are the San Beda Red Lions who have stacked up their roster with Filipino-American recruits and US NCAA Division 2 players in Jimmy Reyes, Janti Miller and Xavier Gantles.

Ateneo will also test its own recruit Kymani Ladi.

“The NEXT MAN cUP is a celebration of talent in the college basketball space,” said Pinoyliga tournament director Benny Benitez, who also heads the league organizing team Pride Edge Marketing.

“With movement of players, transferring from one school to another, others even looking outside the country for talent, our third season promises to be an exciting one,” Benitez added.