MANILA: The third edition of the Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Collegiate Pre-season Championship will kick off at the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Friday.
Come-backing University of the Philippines and De La Salle University complete the 18-team field led by two-time champion National University.
‘All 18 schools are confirmed. This is our third conference this season. This is our flagship conference. Our main event. The goal really was to get all 18 schools, the 10 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) teams and eight UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) schools. We’re happy that we’re able to do that this year,’ Dr. Ian Laurel, president of SSL organizer Athletic Events and Sports Management, Inc. (ACES), said during the press conference at Shakey’s Malate on Wednesday.
The 18 teams are divided into four pools with NU, Arellano University, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Ateneo de Manila University, and San Beda University in Pool A.
University of Santo Tomas, Lyceum of the
Philippines University, Mapua University, University of the East (UE), and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta are in Pool B; La Salle, Letran College, Jose Rizal University, and UP are in Pool C; and NCAA champion College of Saint Benilde, San Sebastian College-Recoletos, Far Eastern University (FEU), and Adamson University are in Pool D.
The top two teams from each pool will advance to the next round where they will be grouped into two, carrying over the points they earned in the prelims for another round-robin play to determine their rankings in the quarterfinals.
The top two squads after the round will earn a twice-to-beat advantage in the crossover quarterfinals.
The semifinals and battle for bronze will have a knockout format while the championship is a best-of-three series.
Seeing action on opening day are San Sebastian against FEU at 3:30 p.m. and Lyceum against UE at 6 p.m.
All players listed in a team’s roster will be fielded under the tournament’s unique all-to-play format while the vide
o challenge system will also be implemented.
‘We want to showcase the recruits of the teams they’ve acquired during the offseason. The fans can expect new names and new faces. See how they will perform and jell with their teams. Established players will also be playing so we’ll have the full lineup of teams ready to play,’ Laurel said.
‘We have the all-to-play format because it encourages more playing time for all the players in the lineup.’
Games will be available live and on-demand via Puso Pilipinas, SMART Livestream, Solar Sports Channel 70 on Sky Cable, and Channel 59 on Cable Link.
Source: Philippines News Agency