[First of a Five-part Yearend Series]
WHO hasn't grown tired of keeping track of the UAAP and the NCAA, more so since the two collegiate basketball tournaments have, for some reason that only makes sense to them, keep holding their seasons simultaneously?
Perhaps only those fans who thought - not surprisingly - that 101-year-old NCAA no longer existed - or is no longer relevant (Ouch!).
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But this wish is not about a much talked about merger of the UAAP and the NCAA, which - although a single major college league is ideal - is no more than a pipe dream given the scores of moving pieces that need to fall into place to make it happen.
What we want to see instead is a national collegiate championship. Nope, not like the Philippine Collegiate Champions Leaague (PCCL) that for years was held after the collegiate season, when most teams were either missing stars or, worse, sent their Team Bs to compete. Something bigger.
What we have in mind is more like the BAP-era National Inter-Collegiate Championship, which, at that time, stood as one of the most prestigious titles in collegiate basketball until it faded into oblivion just like the old, unpopular basketball federation.
Why not revive it?
In its glory days, the National Inter-Collegiate Championship lured the best varsity teams both from the Big City and the provinces, serving as the launchpad of players at a time when there were no YouTube or FB highlights to help coaches scout talent.
Just imagine: One tournament to bring together the top teams from the UAAP, NCAA, Cebu's Cesafi, and all the other leagues around the country, all competing at full-strength in an in-season tournament to crown a true national collegiate champion.
That ought to be fun to watch.
Of course, such a tournament will be a major undertaking and therefore requires financial muscle, clout, influence and organizational expertise to stage. Anything less and it risks turning into another copycat of the PCCL.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has all of these - the resources to fund a major tournament, the infrastructure to hold nationwide qualifiers, and the clout to convince schools to show up and compete with their best players.
Come to think of it, the national basketball federation has for so long focused mainly on its elite teams and only recently bolstered its program for the juniors ranks and the grassroots. But up to now, it has nothing for the in between. In fact, the SBP doesn't hold a single tournament it can call its own. Period.
So how about it, SBP?
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