Replicating March Madness in the Philippines: The Concerns

The United States National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) wrapped up March Madness with the Baylor Bears taking the school's first national championship against a previously undefeated squad in the form of the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Not only did Baylor beat a team that was gunning for a perfect season but, they also won the championship after not having a tournament last year due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

One can only wish: having that type of hype that March Madness brings to fans- here in the Philippines.

The question is: Can we get that same "madness" effect in the country via a unified collegiate league?

In the words of Jinno Rufino, "It's very difficult,"

Rufino and Aaron Atayde exchanged their thoughts about bringing the madness of March Madness here in the Philippines on Tuesday's episode of Jump Thru Hoops.

Sure, there's the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) which brings together all collegiate teams from different regions to crown a national champion. However, Aaron Atayde explained the difference between the US NCAA and collegiate leagues here- particularly in the major leagues such as the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the Philippine NCAA, and the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI).

"The main concern that I have right now in trying to reach that madness level that the US March Madness has is because of the rules that are set in the NCAA. Like there are only 12 scholarships that you can give. The reason why the level of competition in the US NCAA and the PCCL are so far part is because of the parity in the league. And when there is a certain number of scholarships that can be made, that is going to be the biggest concern in making a whole country-level tournament at the same level as that of the US NCAA," he explained.

Rufino pointed out how some teams see the PCCL tournament. "The teams look at that as training, as a means in keeping the players in shape, keeping them sharp, giving time to junior players. There are times that they wear their practice uniforms to the games. When they wear practice uniforms as they game uniforms, you already know that this (the PCCL) is looked at as practice,"

Rufino also explained the economic side of things. "You have teams coming from Mindanao flying to Manila to play several games. It's gonna be a big, big challenge. It's something that because of the economics, I don't think it can be fixed,"

Both Rufino and Atayde agreed that having different collegiate leagues with a different set of rules is a concern that creates a roadblock for Philippine basketball to have that March Madness hype. However, Atayde suggested that is both far-fetched and yet, interesting, especially for fans of collegiate basketball fans in the country, and it involves the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

"All of the leagues be unified and made the same because that's the problem. The rules in the NCAA and the rules in the UAAP are different from the rules in the CESAFI. There are so many different rules. Shouldn't there be one governing body to decide everything when it comes to basketball? That one governing body should be the SBP,"

In the end, both Jump Thru Hoops hosts agreed that there are just too many things happening from within the local collegiate leagues that prevent the said leagues from coming close to the level of hype that is March Madness.

"That's why the 'madness' that of the US NCAA March Madness will not happen here. There are ways too many things going on. That's why the 'madness' in the US NCAA March Madness is insane because, at the core of it, it's just basketball," Ayayde concluded.

Indeed, one can only wish.

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