A toast for champions

With the 2010 collegiate basketball season over, it is now fitting and proper to recognize and give appreciation to those who made their mark during the season as competition unfolded in all the “mother leagues” nationwide. 

Champion teams of the different leagues have been declared, and some of these champion teams have become regional champions, while others were successful in the tough zonal games to reach the highest level of collegiate competition – the Sweet 16 Finals of the Philippine Collegiate Championship.

The Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) is conducting this annual search for the best collegiate teams through a multi-level nationwide competition that starts with the “mother league” competitions. Top teams in the major leagues such as the UAAP, NCAA and CESAFI, advance directly to the Sweet 16 Finals while other champion teams are given the opportunity to join the elite group by winning the regional and zonal games.

‘A Toast’ for recognition and appreciation

At 4 p.m. today, January 21, at the 9501 Restaurant, 14th floor, ELJ Bldg. in Quezon City, PCCL and ABS-CBN will co-host “A Toast,” an event where due recognition and appreciation will be given to the winners and those who contributed to the success of the 2010 Philippine Collegiate Championship.

The top four teams that will receive prizes (athletic equipment/items) are: Ateneo Blue Eagles (Philippine Collegiate Champion) – P500,000 for the school and P400,000 for team members; Adamson U Soaring Falcons (runner-up ) – P200,000 each for the school and the team members;

De La Salle Green Archers (third place) – P100,000 each for the school and the team members; and University of Cebu Webmasters (fourth place) – P50,000 each for the school and the team members.

The National Collegiate Player of the Year, the highest honor that PCCL confers, is given for exemplary conduct on and off the court, an individual worthy for emulation as a role model of an accomplished collegiate athlete attaining college education whilst playing competitively and upholding the high standards of performance and sportsmanship, and for leading his school team, University of Cebu Webmasters, to record-setting achievements. This goes to Junmar Fajardo.

The Fortitude Award is given to the team that has displayed resoluteness and courage to qualify to the Sweet 16 Finals in the face of drastic changes in team composition. The National University Bulldogs receives this award.

The Breakthrough Performance Award is conferred to the team that was not awed by competition and came up with breakthrough games to qualify for the first time to the Sweet 16 Finals. This is given to the University of Iloilo Wildcats.

The Grinder Award goes to the team that is a consistent Sweet 16 qualifier passing through the tough zonal games for the past three consecutive years (2008, 2009 and 2010). The Lyceum of the Philippines Pirates receives this award.

The Comeback Award is given to the team that has made remarkable “comeback” from last year, from being a zonal qualifier that got eliminated in the first round to being a strong performer winning over a highly rated opponent, NCAA Champion San Beda Red Lions, and capturing third place in the Sweet 16 Finals. The De La Salle Green Archers will take this award.

The Great Leap Forward Award is for a team that has failed to reach the Sweet 16 Finals (2008 and 2009), but made a great leap forward by beating better rated teams and was just a game short from capturing the 2010 national title. The award goes to the Adamson University Soaring Falcons.

The Motivator of the Year Award goes to the person that has provided the motivating power that has lifted his team to history-making achievements, firstly as the first Overall Southern Islands Collegiate Champion, 2010 CESAFI Champion, and subsequently as fourth placer in the Sweet 16 Finals. The team is the University of Cebu Webmasters and the Great Motivator of the team is Atty. Baldomero Estenzo.

ABS-CBN is the main sponsor of the prizes given to schools. Prizes for winning team members and individual performers are courtesy of ABS-CBN Sports and SBP president, Manuel V. Pangilinan.

M. V. Pangilinan special awards

In addition to the above, several individual top performers of the 2010 games received their awards, sponsored by SBP president, M.V.Pangilinan, after the championship games. These were: Nico Salva (ADMU) as Most Valuable Player in the Finals and Mythical Team member; and Kirk Long (ADMU), Lester Alvarez (ADU), Alex Nuyles (ADU) and Junmar Fajardo (UC) as the other members of the Mythical Team; Norman Black (ADMU) as Best Coach; and Meynard Bellecer as Best Referee.

Highlights of 2010 Philippine Collegiate Championship

A total of over 220 collegiate teams competed in the “mother league” competitions nationwide. Thirty collegiate “mother leagues” advanced in the process of gathering the champion teams in regional and zonal competitions leading to the Sweet 16 Finals.

The 2010 regional champions that advanced to the zonal games were: University of Baguio Cardinals – North/Central Luzon champion; Computer Communication Dev. Inst. (CCDI-Sorsogon) – South Luzon-Bicol champion; University of Iloilo Wildcats – Visayas Islands champion; and Agro-Industrial Foundation College (Davao City) Sailors – Mindanao champion.

The first Overall Southern Islands Collegiate Championship (includes all the leagues in the entire area of Visayas and Mindanao) was won by CESAFI champion, University of Cebu Webmasters, with convincing wins over University of Iloilo and University of San Carlos.

Apart from the top four, the other 2010 Sweet 16 finalists were the San Beda College Red Lions, FEU Tamaraws, USC Warriors, Mapua Cardinals, JRU Heavy Bombers, National U Bulldogs, UE Warriors, UV Green Lancers, University of Iloilo Wildcats, SSC-R Golden Stags, Letran Knights, and the Lyceum of the Philippines Pirates.

The following are the sponsors and partners that made the 2010 Philippine Collegiate Championship a reality: PLDT, SMART, ABS-CBN, Molten Balls, FilOil Flying V and Philippine Star.

PCCL – A school-based grassroots program

Since 2003, Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) has been conducting a school-based grassroots program for collegiate basketball. In 2008, SBP and PCCL forged a partnership to broaden the scope of the Philippine Collegiate Championship. A nationwide multi-level tournament was organized that included provincial, regional and zonal competitions to select the top 16 teams that will finally knock each other out for the national title.

The University of the East Warriors was the first PCCL champion in 2003 followed with back-to-back championships by the FEU Tamaraws in 2004 and 2005. The UE Warriors came back strong in 2006, while the Ateneo Blue Eagles finally broke the hold of FEU and UE by winning the 2007 title. De La Salle Green Archers grabbed the 2008 championship beating the then UAAP champion Ateneo.

The Blue Eagles duplicated FEU’s previous run by winning back to back the PCCL titles in 2009 (beating FEU in three games) and 2010 (beating Adamson U also in three games).

All the national collegiate champions’ names are engraved in the MVPangilinan Perpetual Bronze Sculpture, “Abutin ang Tagumpay,” which depicts the supremacy of collegiate basketball.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th 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.