On a break

I am away for my annual sabbatical leave. My commentaries on issues of the day will resume on the 29th of May, 2009.

2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship Games

The Philippine Collegiate Championship Games, the annual search for the best collegiate teams in the country, is a series of nationwide multi-level tournaments that starts with regional championships, and going through zonal qualifying games and the “Sweet 16” finals.

These competitions are organized, conducted and managed by the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL), a non-profit duly registered entity affiliated with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

Coach Joe Lipa, currently PCCL national tournament director, initiated this search program six years ago by inviting the top teams from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI).

In subsequent years, the Champions League competitions expanded with the participation of champion teams from Davao and Bacolod.

Last year, PCCL and SBP entered into an agreement to institutionalize the annual search for the best collegiate teams in the country. The coverage was broadened to include all the collegiate leagues nationwide competing in multi-level tournaments leading to the finals. Starting as an invitational, the Philippine Collegiate Championship Games now involves over 200 teams from 27 “mother leagues” nationwide.

Sponsorship support

Being a non-profit organization, PCCL has to depend on sponsorship assistance for funding to conduct the Philippine Collegiate Championship games annually.

The funding support was boosted with the personal commitment of Manuel V. Pangilinan, SBP president, who believes that this annual competition to determine the best collegiate teams in the country will further spur the development of local talents.

Pangilinan shares the view that players in the provinces need to expand their competitive environment and deserve more exposure in order to bloom and become future stars.

In recognition of MVP’s all-out support to basketball particularly in the collegiate level, his sportsmen friends commissioned renowned Filipino sculpture Juan Sajid Imao to create the bronze sculpture, “Abutin Ang Tagumpay,” as the Manuel V. Pangilinan Perpetual Trophy as a symbol of collegiate basketball supremacy, to be temporarily kept by the reigning National Collegiate champion for the year.

For the 2009 competitions, PAGCOR Sports joined SMART, PLDT, Molden basketballs and The Philippine Star as among those committed to continuing support for the PCCL program.

Other corporate entities are most welcome to participate in this endeavor and avail of the nationwide media exposure of the Games while at the same time supporting the schools in their various sports programs.

Watch this space for updates on the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Championship Games or visit www.CollegiateChampionsLeague.net.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25^th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.