#NCAA98: Check Out the First Round Schedule of the Men's Basketball Tournament.

 

The 98th Season of the National Collegiate Athletics Association of the Philippines kicks off this September 10 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Check out the full schedule of the Men's Basketball Tournament here: 

You can watch the games on NCAA Philippines official Facebook Page, or you can also watch the games on GTV. 

NCAA Philippines Opens Season 98 This September 10.

 

The countdown to 100 years begins for the oldest athletics league in the country as the National Collegiate Athletics Association of the Philippines is opening their 98th season this coming September 10 at the Araneta Coliseum. 

With the theme "Achieve Greatness Every Day", the league's 98th season hosts school Emilio Aguinaldo College aims to bring the glory back to the NCAA after it was badly hit by the pandemic. 

Ten sports will be played this coming season, headlined by the Men's Basketball and Women's Volleyball, also in the list of the sports to be played are Tae Kwon Do, Chess, and making a comeback are Juniors Basketball, Men's Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Cheer dance, Track and Field, and Swimming competitions for the seniors division. 

The opening ceremonies of the NCAA will be aired on GMA 7 and GTV as well as on the league's official social media account @NCAA Philippines and on GMA Sports. Regular games will air on GTV and will also be streamed live on NCAA Philippines official Facebook page. 

#NCAA97 Day 2: Arellano, Mapua scores win number 1

 

The Arellano Chiefs rallied past the San Sebastian Golden Stags to get to a 65-63 victory to open their season 97 campaign. 

Although Justin Arana wasn't able to finish the game because of an injury, he was able to lead the Chiefs with 16 points and 15 rebounds, Jordan Sta Ana added 14 points. Meanwhile, Camilluz Altamirano led the way for the Stags, JM Calma and Ken Villapando added 13 and 10 points respectively. 

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The Mapua Cardinals soared high in their first game as they beat down the EAC Generals 73-67. 

Adrian Nocum breaks out for the Cardinals with 20 points, Brian Lacap added 14 points. Kris Gurtiza on the other hand led the Generals with 21 points, Allen Liwag and Marwin Taywan added 16 and 13 points respectively.

#NCAA97:Day 1: Letran, San Beda Takes Opening Day Victory.

 

The Letran Knights averted an almost opening upset after they fend off season 97 hosts CSB Blazers 67-63. 

The Blazers opened the game strong with an early 16-10 lead over the Knights, although the Knights were able to bounce back strong in the second period the Blazers were still able to finish the first half on top at 33-30. 

The green shirts kept their lead up until the third period, but going to the final period the Blazers collapsed and struggled with both their defense and offense, giving the chance for the Knights to capitalize with an 18-8 output to steal the win away from the Taft based squad. 

Transferee Rhenz Abando made his presence felt early as he led teh Knights with 19 points and 8 rebounds, Veteran Knight Fran Yu added 12 points. Meanwhile, AJ Benson led the way for the Blazers with 16 points, Carlo Lim added 10 points. 

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In the second game, last year's runners up San Beda Red Lions fended off the gritty Lyceum Pirates 84-76. 

The Red Lions were able to control the game in the first half, leading 25-18 in the first period and extending their lead as to a 41-27 at the end of the second and even as high as 20 points in the third period, the Pirates came knocking in the fourth period trimming the lead down to as low as 7, good thing the Red Shirts were able to keep the Pirates at bay as the game ends. 

 Ralph Penuela and JB Bahio led the roar of the Red Lions with 12 points each, Tony Ynot added 10. Meanwhile, Enoch Valdez top scored for Lyceum with 22 points, Renzo Navarro and Jerwyn Guinto added 15 and 10 points respectively.

#NCAA97: Meet the 10 Competing Teams.

 

A few more days and it's almost game time, but before the action returns we will first meet the final line up of the 10 schools participating in the 97th Season of the National Collegiate Athletics Association of the Philippines. 

#NCAA97: Elimination Round Schedule

The 97th season of the NCAA is all set to open this March 26 and unlike other season the basketball tournament is just shortened to a single round robin elimination with the top 6 teams advancing to the next round. 

Next round will give the top two teams a twice to beat advantage in the semifinals, while the next four teams will battle it out to complete for the last two spots in the semi. Here comes the play in system where the #6 and #5 seed will battle and the winner of this will face the loser of the #3 vs #4 match to complete final four.

A bets of three finals awaits the last two team standing to determine who will be the Season 97 champions.   

Thee Defending champs Letran Knights will open their title defense against season 97 hosts College of Saint Benilde Blazers at 2pm, meanwhile the quest for redemption of the San Beda Red Lions will begin against the Lyceum Pirates at 4pm. 

Games will be played every Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until Sundays, first game is at 12nn and the second game will be at 3pm. Venue is at the La Salle Greenhills Gymnasium still no audiences are allowed in the venue, but fans can watch it live on GTV and there will also be live streams of the game on NCAA's official social media channels. 

Check out the full schedule here: 

NCAA Opens Season 97 This March 26! Introduces Newest Batch of Court Side Reporters.

The National Collegiate Athletics Association of the Philippines is all set to begin their 97th season this coming March 26! Unlike season 96 wherein games were all done virtually and limited to non contact sports this 97th season the league is set to welcome back contact sports with the return of the 5x5 Basketball tournament this coming March 26. 

The 97th season of NCAA hosted by College of Saint Benilde will only banner four sports, aside from Basketball, there will be Volleyball, Online Chess, and Tae Kwon Do for now. 

Meanwhile, the NCAA formally introduces their 13 Court Side Reporters that will bring updates about the games live as it happens. 

The 13 CSR's were led returnees Chase Orozco and Aya de Quiroz, joining them are Baileys Acot, Christiana Dimaunahan, Avia Zuric, Sofia Rodelas, Ann Gabriel, Michelle Naldo, Eden Hernandez, Cha Laude, Chloe Carillo, and there will be two male CSRs in Christian Sebastian and Lance Santiago. 

NCAA Season 97 will open this coming March 26, watch it live at 2:30pm via GMA channel 7 and watch the games live on GTV.

NCAA Season 96: Rise Up Stronger on June 13

 

After more than a year after the cancellation of their 95th season due to the pandemic, the oldest collegiate sports league in the country is finally set to make a return as they are ready to rise up against the pandemic and are all set to open their 96th season this June 13. 

But don't get too excited yet, because of the still on going pandemic and the strict protocols that the IATF has imposed, the league will just open its doors to limited sports and events that will be done virtually such as online chess, poomsae, and taekwondo. 

Contact sports on amateur level are still prohibited by the government, but the league has posted the Basketball and Volleyball in their calendar of events and are still awaiting for approval from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Inter Agency Task Force against emerging and infectious diseases (IATF). 

For now, the NCAA considers holding skills based online challenges like a slam dunk challenge, 3 point shootout, who knows if they can pull off a 1 vs 1 basketball tournament just like in the NBL. 

For more updates you can watch "Rise Up Together: The Road to NCAA Season 96" primer on GTV everyday, Mondays to Fridays at 2:45pm, Saturdays at 4:30pm and on Sundays at 5pm. Get to know more of your favorite NCAA teams, athletes, and legends in this 21 episode show that already began last Sunday, May 23.