Warriors launch bid minus Custodio

University of the East Warriors coach Dindo Pumaren is expecting a tough time in their bid to reclaim the throne in the Collegiate Champions League.

"We’re all winners here and three days pa lang ulit kami nagpa-practice," Pumaren said on the eve of their Sweet 16 meeting with UCAA champions Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals at the latter’s gym.

The fifth seeded Warriors will play without leading scorer Bonbon Custodio.

"He’s no longer joining our practice sessions," Pumaren said.

Custodio, who was suspended by the Warriors in their knockout game with the University of Sto. Tomas Tigers in the Final Four, will not be eligible to play in the UAAP next season. With the prolific wingman out, the Warriors will lean more on the inside-outside combination of Mark Borboran and Marcy Arellano.

"Even without Bonbon, we’re still a very competitive team," said Pumaren, who led the Warriors to a runner-up finish last year.

The Warriors won the title in 2003, making them the first champion of the tournament that gathered the 16 best college varsity teams in the land.

The Generals, seeded 12th, are expected to rely on Ronjay Buenafe, Alain Musni, John Valderama and their homecourt advantage in their bid to pull off an upset.

In the other game, the Mapua Cardinals test the mettle of many-time NCRAA champions Saint Francis de Assisi Doves.

The eighth seeded Cardinals will be bannered by Filipino-Canadian Kelvin De La Peña, Jerby Del Rosario, Jofferson Gonzales, Raymond Tiongco and Sean Co while the ninth seeded Doves will parade Leomar Losentes, Martin Ilagan, Christopher Concepcion and Michael Rabor.

Scholarship funds and sports equipment/facilities amounting to P850,000 are at stake in the two-week competition. The champion school will receive P500,000 worth of scholarship grants and sports equipment, while the second, third and fourth placers will get P200,000, P100,000 and P50,000 worth of prizes, respectively.

The opening day double-header will be aired on Basketball TV starting 7 p.m.