Photo by NCAA.org.ph
MANILA, Philippines—Action in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League shifts to Ormoc starting tomorrow with two semifinal berths at stake.
Champion squads from Bohol, Leyte, Iloilo and Bacolod tangle in a two-day round-robin contest with the top finisher going up against Southwestern University, the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) runner-up, on November 29.
Battling on the same day are Cesafi titlist University of Cebu and Mindanao champion STI in the other knockout duel at the Ormoc Astrodome.
The two survivors will fight for the lone Final Four berth allotted for the Visayas-Mindanao bracket in the first of a knockout doubleheader on Nov. 30.
Also flying to Ormoc are San Sebastian and Letran, the two NCAA squads battling for the other semifinal slot in the Luzon-Metro Manila bracket.
Ormoc Mayor Eric Codilla and other local officials led by city sports council chair Ruben Capahi and Ormoc City Schools Sports Organization (Ocsso) president Roger Lagarde said the province is all set to host the tournament pitting the country’s best college teams.
The top two teams in Ormoc will join four-time UAAP champion Ateneo and back-to-back NCAA titlist San Beda—which were given outright semifinal berths—in a round-robin Final Four contest starting on Dec. 5 at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.
All semifinal matches will be aired live by ABS-CBN Sports on Studio 23.
San Sebastian advanced to the final round of the Luzon-Metro Manila stepladder after slipping past Adamson in a thrilling overtime victory, 85-83, last Thursday.
Letran also kept its bid alive after stunning UAAP runner-up Far Eastern University, 73-64, in the other knockout pairing.