Philippine Sports News and Updates

MANILA, Philippines - The National Collegiate Athletic Association will have the Philippine Sports Commission as its partner when its Season 85 opens shop on June 27 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Management Committee chair Jose Mari Lacson of host San Beda yesterday said they will hold most of their games at the government-owned Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila and the Philsports Arena in Pasig City as part of the new partnership.

“Except for basketball, all of our games will be staged at the PSC-owned facilities because the chairman agreed to support the league,” said Lacson.

This means that nine of the 11 events in the NCAA calendar, including first semester disciplines volleyball, chess and swimming will be played at the RMSC and the Philsports Arena.

The rest of the events – taekwondo, beach volleyball, football, table tennis, lawn tennis, centerpiece athletics and demonstration sport soft tennis – will also be held at these venues.

Opening day games pitting reigning three-peat champion San Beda against Mapua at 2 p.m., last year’s runner-up Jose Rizal versus Letran at 4 p.m. and Perpetual Help against San Sebastian at 6 p.m. will be held at the Araneta Coliseum.

With the exception of the bigger matches, the rest of the elimination round games, scheduled every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, are set at The Arena in San Juan.

This includes the June 29 showdowns pitting St. Benilde against guest team Angeles University Foundation at 2 p.m. and the other two guest squads Arellano U versus Emilio Aguinaldo College at 4 p.m.

All basketball games will be aired live on ABS-CBN’s UHL channel Studio 23.

The cheerleading competition, for its part, will be staged either at the Big Dome or The Arena.

Lacson said the league initially preferred the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, its original home, as its venue for this year but the decades-old establishment is currently undergoing major repairs.

“If you’re going to ask me, we want to hold our games at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum because it’s the original NCAA home. But its still under repair so maybe next year,” said Lacson.

• Philstar
• Philippine Sports Central