By the next weekend, the NCAA will be staging a season that will be “for the history books,” a season that will feature in-person competitions that have been shelved over the last two years and one that will mark the league’s return to the “new normal.”
La Salle Greenhills Gym will be the exclusive venue for men’s basketball as the NCAA continues to push the envelop against the lingering threat of the pandemic and unfurls Season 97 beginning on March 26.
Players will be shuttling from their home schools—which serve as their billeting areas as well—to the venue throughout the competition that will be compressed into just a month-long affair with all the 10 member schools competing.
“By all accounts, this is a very challenging season, we have to abide by protocols and give priority to the health and safety of the students/athletes,” said NCAA management committee chair Dax Castellano of St. Benilde during Saturday’s media launch at GMA Network Studios in Quezon City.
“But here we will show that [the] league can rise through this pandemic and will keep going as far as the guidelines and protocols would allow,” he added.
Reigning champion Letran will open the hostilities clashing with the host St. Benilde at 3:30 p.m.
San Beda will clash with Lyceum at 7:05 p.m.