Complete UAAP, NCAA teams spice up Filoil Preseason Cup

Talk about a preseason.

For the first time in its 10-year history, the Filoil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup will have all the teams from the two biggest collegiate leagues in the country, the UAAP and the NCAA.

Tournament director Joey Guillermo said the inclusion of all the teams from the two leagues would greatly help in their preparation for their respective tournaments.

“We’re trying to help these teams to prepare, and for our part we’re helping the schools to prepare,” said Guillermo Thursday at SportsIQ, the Inquirer’s omniplatform radio sports show.

With NCAA having 10 schools, and with the UAAP having just eight, Guillermo said they can’t group the teams based on its leagues.

Instead they put up two groups with nine teams each with schools from the NCAA and the UAAP getting to cross path as early as the first stages.

There is, however, a more notable group as Group A consists of bitter rivals Ateneo and La Salle, and San Beda and Letran.

“People will look forward to this, and if we put the four schools in different groups, the fans will have to hope that their teams will meet in the semifinals,” said Guillermo.

Guillermo added his preseason tournament is not regarded as just a simple summer league, but a venue for the teams to immediately showcase what they’ve got.

“I think the tournament has grown a lot, because when I took over in 2010 I was still trying to convince the schools to send their teams,” said Guillermo. “Now the schools itself are the ones asking, ‘when will the Filoil start?’”

“I guess we’re pretty satisfied with what we’ve accomplished.”