INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines -- The Quezon City Police Department (QCPD) has beefed up its security operations ahead of the men's college basketball championships on 4 p.m. Thursday that will see the second face-off between bitter rivals Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University.

In a phone interview, Inspector Lito Letrero of QCPD-Operations said that as early as 11 a.m., more than 200 policemen have been deployed in and outside the Araneta Coliseum as well as its nearby establishments to ensure security for the spectators later today.

Each of the 11 QCPD police stations has been ordered to deploy 10 policemen to the area. The QCPD station seven has deployed 50, another 82 from the District Mobile Police Group, while teams from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit and the Explosive Ordnance Device (EOD) were also assigned.

Letrero said security of the Araneta Coliseum has also requested additional policemen because of the “influx of spectators that they are having difficulty securing the area.”

He also acknowledged that scalpers would be present but that “the safety of the spectators” would be their main concern.

“This is a big crowd event and our main concern is that there is a big possibility that there will be thieves who will strike in the area. That's why our main concern is safety,” Letrero added.