THE National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the country’s oldest athletic organization, will begin its 99th season on September 24 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The NCAA Season 99 Opening Ceremony, featuring the ten participating schools, is scheduled for 2 p.m. This will be followed by basketball games.
Aiming for a four-peat, the defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran will face this season’s hosts, Jose Rizal University, on the first day of the competition.
Lyceum of the Philippines University will take on Season 98 runner-up, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, led by reigning MVP Will Gozum, Miguel Oczon, and Miguel Corteza, at 5:30 p.m.
NCAA games will be played at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and at 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
There will be three games every Sunday at 10 a.m. 12:20 p.m. and 2:40 p.m. Except for the Opening Day, all matches will be held at the Filoil EcoOil Center in San Juan City.
The NCAA has consistently produced professional basketball players, and some of them even played for the national team, Gilas Pilipinas.
At the recently concluded PBA Draft, Letran’s championship players Fran Yu and Louie Sangalang, Mapua’s Adrian Nocum, Lyceum’s Enoch Valdez, and San Beda’s James Kwekuteye were tapped by several teams.
Will the Letran Knights complete their four-peat? Will the CSB Blazers get their revenge? Or will a new university reign supreme in this year’s tournament?
What’s for sure, though, is that this will be another exciting season for the NCAA.
