MANILA, Philippines – The NCAA will add a Saturday game as a regular weekly offering apart from its Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule with hopes of shortening the basketball tournament unfurling on June 28 at a still unspecified venue.
Starting this year, Management Committee chair Paul Supan of host Jose Rizal said the addition of the Saturday schedule will make it a seven-game a week schedule in the seniors' division instead of the six-game slate a year back.
"This is the league's answer to questions on how long our Season 90 will last," said Supan after Wednesday's board meeting at the Jose Rizal campus in Mandaluyong City.
Supan also said they've re-scheduled the seniors' matches from 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. from 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. a season back while the juniors' games will be played at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. from 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. last year.
As these developed, official coveror TV5 will show all second games of the Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule and the Saturday game, set at 12:30 p.m., live simultaneous on both TV5 and its affiliate free sports channel AksyonTV at 2 p.m.
The first games during Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will be televised also live on AksyonTV.
"We're happy with the new agreement," said Supan, whose league is on its last year of the three-year contract.
It can be recalled that Season 89 spilled into the second semester for the first time in league history due to postponements caused by inclement weather and the league giving way to the FIBA-Asia Championship at the MOA Arena in Pasay City for 11 days in August.
Host Jose Rizal and last year's titlist San Beda will open up hostilities as the two clash at 12 p.m. on June 28 while last year's runner-up Letran clashes with San Sebastian in the other game at 2 p.m.
League and Jose Rizal president Dr. Vincent Fabella said the league will be officially ushered in with an opening ceremony to remember with Luis Miguel tapped as art director.
This year's Season 90 theme is "Today's Heroes, Tomorrow's Legends--NCAA @90: We Make History."
Other schools competing this year are St. Benilde, Mapua, Perpetual Help, Arellano U, Emilio Aguinaldo and Lyceum.