Champion's League Final 8 Coming up

Except for the sentimental favorite in me, I almost got all the winners correct in the first round of the Philippine Collegiate Champion's LEague. Ateneo breezed past Lyceum University while San Beda did the same to . De La Salle University and University of the East likewise came out on top as the two finalists of last year's UAAP thrashed University of San Jose Recoletos and University of Visayas respectively. Most intriguing was how the smaller UE team handled the 6-11 giant of UV.

Arellano University capped its season long brilliance by beating the Universal College of Nursing Dragons while Coach Leo Isaac's other team, the Mapua Cardinals gave the MLQU Stallions their pink slip for the tournament. The Letran Knights arranged a final 8 meeting with the FEU Tamaraws. The tamaraws eliminated 2008 NCAA Runner up Jose Rizal University. The final 8 will roll this week with the following games:

Ateneo Blue Blue Eagles vs. Mapua Cardinals
San Beda Red Lions vs. Arellano Chiefs
De la Salle Green Archers vs. University of the East Warriors
FEU Tamaraws vs. Letran Knights

My picks are the teams at the left side. Good luck and just remember that there can only be one!

There can only be one

Good luck to the 16 different schools that comprise the sweet 16 and I hope that this year will be the start when all schools in the country will truly honor the best collegiate team in the nation.

 Just some trivia with this year’s Philippine Collegiate Championships. 

1. The defending champion and favored to win it all is the Ateneo Blue Eagles, UE and FEU won the CCL twice, will Ateneo be the third team to win it twice?
2. The returnees from last year’s sweet 16 are Ateneo, DLSU, UE, FEU, San Beda, Mapua, UV,  MLQU & Lyceum. Teams from last year that did not make it this year are UST, STI, San Sebastian College, Sacred Heart, West Negros, University of Mindanao
3. There are two Recoletos teams which come from the same order, the Order of Agustinian Recolets. The teams are the  San Sebastian College Recoletos de Cavite and University of  San Jose Recoletos.
4. There are three teams that came from the CESAFI UV, University of San Jose and University of San Carlos
5. If the Arellano Chiefs and Mapua Cardinals meet, what team will coach Leo Isaac Coach?

 Sweet 16 Schedule, All Games will be played at the San juan Arena

November 24, 2008

1. Ateneo de Manila vs. Lyceum of the Philippines
2. San Beda  College vs. University of San Jose Recoletos

November 26, 2008

3. Manuel Luis Quezon University vs. Mapua Institue of Technology
4. De La Salle University vs. University of San Carlos

November 27, 2008

5. Universal College of Nursing vs. Arellano Chiefs
6. University of the East vs. University of Visayas

November 29, 2008

7. San Sebastian College Cavite vs. Letran College
8. Jose Rizal University vs. Far Eastern University

I pick Ateneo, DLSU, San Beda, UE, Mapua and Arellano breezing through the first round. If there is an upset in the making it would have to San Sebastian Cavite if ever they make it past the Letran Knights.  The best match up would have to be Jose Rizal University against Far Eastern University with the Tamaraws most likely to advance.

 

Philippine Collegiate Championships 2008

Let me explain this in a manner that hopefully everyone will understand. There are teams seeded in the Philippine Collegiate Championships and these are the champions of the UAAP, NCAA, NAASCU, UCAA, CESAFI and CUSA so that's six teams. Also seeded are the runner up of the UAAP and NCAA which makes the seeded players already eight. This year the teams that are already seeded are the Ateneo Blue Eagles and DLSU Green Archers, the San Beda Red Lions and JRU Heavy Bombers, the San Sebastian de Cavite Baycats, Universal College of Nursing Dragons, the University of Visayas Green Lancers and the MLQU Stallions.

The other teams that will fill out the remaining eight slots will come from the four zonals. The top two teams in each of the four zonals will qualify to the Sweet 16. The teams that made it to the zonals are the following:

Zone 1 – St. Louis University, Champion-Ilocos/Baguio; University of Luzon, Champion-Pangasinan/Pampanga; Mapua Cardinals, NCAA fourth placer; Arellano University Chiefs, Fr. Martin Cup; Lyceum University-Batangas, NCAA-South runner-up; and University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, Wild Card Qualifier.

Zone 2 – University of Nueva Caceres Greyhounds, Champion-Quezon/Bicol; Don Bosco College-Mandaluyong, Champion-NCAA-South; University of the East Warriors, UAAP fourth placer; and Lyceum of the Philippines Pirates, Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals and St. Claire College Saints, Wild Card Qualifiers.

Zone 3 – BIT International College Cruisers, Champion-Bohol/Dumaguete; AMA Computers Titans, Champion-Ormoc/Tacloban; University of San Jose Recoletos Jaguars, CESAFI runner-up; Letran College, NCAA third placer; University of Cebu Webmasters, Wild Card Qualifier; and Bacolod/Iloilo Champion (ongoing regional finals at Bacolod).

Zone 4 – Xavier University Crusaders, Champion-Cagayan de Oro; University of Mindanao Wildcats, Champion-Davao/GenSan; Ateneo de Zamboanga, Champion-Zamboanga provinces; University of San Carlos Warriors - 3rd placer Cesafi,Far Eastern University-UAAP 3rd placer

Again the top two teams for each zone will make it to the Sweet 16. My bet goes for UST and Arellano for Zone 1, UE and Lyceum for Zone 2, while Letran and USJ Recoletos will most likely make it in Zone three while FEU and University of San Carlos are my bets for Zone 4. Teams that may make a few surprises are Mapua, University of Cebu and Xavier University.