MANILA, Philippines–The NCAA has decided not to hand out the general championship for its 95th season that was terminated due to the coronavirus pandemic.
There were several tournaments that were not played or were not completed when the collegiate league moved to end the season as the threat of COVID-19 worsened in the country last March.
“COVID-19 affected Season 95 because we were not able to finish its calendar. And there were several events that were scheduled be held like beach volleyball track and field, cheerleading, while indoor volleyball and lawn tennis were not able to complete their tournaments,” said Cayco.
Football, futsal and the cheerleading competition were also scrapped.
With the top three schools still with equal chances to get the overall title, it was decided not to award it for both the juniors and seniors’ divisions.
“Because the 1-2-3 spots are up for grabs. So we decided not to award a general championship,” said former chairman Peter Cayco of Arellano on Tuesday during the PSA Forum webinar. “So everything is now on Father Vic’s lap.”
San Beda was leading in the seniors’ division with championships in men’s and women’s table tennis, women’s lawn tennis, men’s and women’s swimming and men’s badminton.
St. Benilde ruled both the men’s and women’s taekwondo while three titles were copped by Perpetual Help (chess), Letran (men’s volleyball) and Arellano (3×3 basketball).
Things remain uncertain for the planned shortened Season 96 season, which is set to open early 2021 instead of the usual July kick-off. From the original plan of holding just four mandatory sports, there’s a chance more events could be added.
“We haven’t discussed it yet. We’ll cross the bridge when we get there,” said Fr. Vic Calvo, who is the Management Committee (ManCom) chairman for host Letran. “Premature as of now.”
“It depends on the situation. We don’t know what will happen between now and March 2021.”