Giving the Champions League a truly Championship Feel

We talked about the PCCL on FTW...

http://www.gmanews.tv/ftw/videos/70201/ftw-pccl-patok-ba

Some additional thoughts:

The day a player sheds a tear upon losing a game in the PCCL a.k.a. Champions League is the day it gains true relevance. Otherwise, it remains just one of many important tournaments outside of the UAAP or NCAA. It's not a put-down of the different organizations who have tried to stage a compelling race for the "National Championship". It's more of a push to find one true format that trumps both the UAAP and NCAA championship series. I don't think it's impossible. It is, however, as I'm sure "Champions League" organizers already know, a gargantuan task.

I'm certain past and present organizing groups have done their best to put together nationwide tournaments meant to start and end without a hitch. What I ponder on is the amount of emotion players, coaches and, most especially, students invest in the "Champions League" endeavor. If most teams continue to regard post-season hoops as more of a chore than a chance for national recognition (and believe me, many of them do), then the PCCL has a long way to go.

It's never easy mapping out a plan to bring the country's top collegiate teams together. So I always commend groups with the will and the wherewithal to make tournaments like the PCCL happen. It is still a legitimate venue for collegiate teams like University of the Visayas or West Negros University to show that they can compete with teams from Metro Manila. It's still a valid avenue for multi-media exposure for a future Peter June Simon or the second coming of Dondon Hontiveros.

Holding a quest for a true National Championship is the right thing to do. So I support all efforts in meeting that end. Even if it means trying and trying year after year. But when teams lose KO games and feel only 1/8 of the pain they feel when they lose second round games in their mother leagues, it's a sign that the race for national collegiate supremacy is still in its early stages. The finish line still nowhere in sight. But it's there. We just have to keep on looking. MH