A CLASH between two perennial NCAA favorites and a semifinals rematch from last year will be ushering in the Season 101 men’s basketball tournament on October 1 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Host and defending champion Mapua will battle Lyceum to get the ball rolling in the 2:30 PM game before Group B action gets going with the face-off between 22-time champion San Beda and loaded College of St. Benilde at 5 PM.
The double-header comes right after the opening ceremony prepared by the host school set at 11 AM.
Most games will still be played at the Playtime Filoil Centre with Letran kicking off its campaign against Jose Rizal University then a reloaded Perpetual tangles with new-look San Sebastian on October 3.
Two promising squads in Emilio Aguinaldo College and Arellano University will make their respective debuts the day after, as the Chiefs take on the Cardinals in Group A action, while the Generals test the Blazers in the main game, also at the same venue.
The finals rematch between Mapua and Benilde will also take center stage at the Playtime Filoil Centre on October 29.
NCAA in Pasay and Manila
While majority of the matchups will still be played in San Juan, there will be four game days in the elimination round slated to be played at the Mall of Asia Arena – including the first rivalry game between San Beda and Letran on October 11. The schedule also includes a clash between EAC and JRU.
The Lyceum-Perpetual and San Sebastian-Arellano double-header will mark the league's return to the Pasay venue on October 10.
Rizal Memorial Coliseum will also be activated this season on November 4 and 5 with Perpetual taking on Benilde and San Sebastian dueling EAC on the fourth then a lone seniors game on the fifth between JRU and Arellano.
READ: Letran, Benilde, San Beda all together in NCAA 101 group of death
There will only be a total of 65 game days for the elims, down from last year’s 90, as the group stages are set to end on November 19 with the Group B clash between the Blazers and Knights then Red Lions and Generals.
Game schedules will also be earlier, with four games being played per match day, starting with juniors action at 8 AM, two seniors games at 11 AM and 2:30 PM, and another high school game at 5 PM – reverting back to the NCAA schedule of old when it played both juniors and seniors tournaments in the same semester.
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