Host TIP, 3 others join inaugural NCBL

FOUR schools are joining forces in the formation of the National Collegiate Basketball League, which is positioning itself as an alternative league.

The initial staging of the NCBL will have host Technological Institute of the Philippines, Centro Escolar University, Don Bosco Technical College and Trinity University of Asia disputing the Founders Cup on March 1 to 15.

“This is just the beginning,” said tournament director Totie Andes of Athletes in Action during the recent launch at TIP campus Manila. “We’re hoping that this could be a nationwide league inculcating values and not just about winning games.”

Calling itself a league without limits, the NCBL hopes to stage its centerpiece tournament in the first semester of next school year as well as stage a commercial league in the second semester.

“We have taken steps to tackle the problems of eligibility and violence that hurt college basketball’s image the past few years,” said founding organizer Potit de Vera of TIP.