GMC, JMC 5s open Preseason Cup bids

MANILA, Philippines — Regional champions are about to make their presence felt when Guang Ming College and Jose Maria College Foundation enter the fray in the 2023 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup today.

The GMC Flying Dragons, the Luzon champions, and Escandor Cup titlists JMC Kings from VisMin take on the fourth-ranked teams from each group in a two-game play-in series.

Joshua Jamias will lead the charge for Mo Gingerich-coached GMC, while Ian Gaslang and Rico Quiamco will spearhead the attack for JMC of coach Dodong Cagampang.

“We’re grateful to Mr. Mario Villanueva of Naga College Foundation and Mr. Glenn Escandor of Escandor Cup for hosting our Philippine Collegiate Champions League regional qualifiers and we’re happy to expand our field nationwide as these regional champions get a chance to compete against some of the elite collegiate teams here in Manila,” said PCCL chairman Rey Gamboa.

JMC opens today’s triple-header at 12 p.m. against Far Eastern University, followed by GMC taking on Letran at 2 p.m.

The two pairings clash anew on Thursday with the highest aggregate score from each matchup earning the No. 4 seed in the quarterfinals and taking on top seeds University of Perpetual Help and De La Salle University, respectively, on Friday.

Meantime, Group II No. 2 College of St. Benilde collides with Group I No. 3 National University, while the University of the Philippines (Group II third seed) tests Lyceum of the Philippines University (Group I second seed) tomorrow in the other quarterfinal matchups.

The preseason league is sponsored by Filoil, EcoOil, Hanes, Akari, Reyes BBQ, BDO, Kalos Sportswear, and Molten with champions St. Clare College of Caloocan (NAASCU), Centro Escolar University (UCBL), and Faith Colleges of Batangas (NCAA South) participating.