ESPN5 covers the NCAA with March Madness
ESPN5, the longterm collaboration between TV5 and ESPN, will present the highly-anticipated NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Team tournament, an event also known to sports fans in the US and the rest of the world as March Madness.
Every year this month, 68 teams will duke it out in the said Division I tournament to determine the national championship of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). March
Madness consists of several rounds that will kick off with The First Four, The First Round (or Round of 64), The Second Round (or Round of 32), The Regional semi-finals (or the Sweet 16), The Regional Finals (or the Elite Eight), the National semi-finals (or the Final Four) and the National Championship.
With its single-elimination format, it’s a “win or go home” situation with each game that will bring out the best — and the worst — in every competing team. Lower-seeded teams or underdogs have a strong chance of having a Cinderella season as they only need one win to advance in each round.
With school spirit at its peak, it is not surprising that March Madness not only covers plenty of competitive action but also numerous dramatic narratives that include stunning upsets, impressive comebacks, heartbreaking losses and stellar individual performances.
Given that, it is also one of the most popular annual sporting events in the US,
March Madness is also the stage for the future stars of the National Basketball Association. No less than Barack Obama is one of its biggest fans as the former US President likes to release his own March Madness predictions every year.
Here in the Philippines, several superstars of the Philippine Basketball Association are known to be huge fans of the NCAA including Kiefer Ravena, Japeth Aguilar and Kobe Paras who are very visible on social media at this time.
Another PBA superstar, Filipino-American Gabe Norwood, who also plays for Gilas Pilipinas, has even reached the Final Four of March Madness as member of the breakout 2006 George Mason University Patriots.
Vincent “Chot” Reyes, president and CEO of 5, noted that like its recent coverage of the National Cheerleading Competition, the network’s presentation of March
Madness is also part of ESPN5’s efforts to give sports fans the broadest array of Philippine sports content. “We are thrilled to bring March Madness to a larger audience of basketball fans in the Philippines. Aligned with our thrust of super serving the Filipino sports fan is the goal of providing all sports with a platform to help them reach and grow their audience. The exciting NCAA collegiate basketball is a big part of that thrust,” Reyes said.
Expect intense NCAA action from both the men and women’s tournaments that will be shown on both TV and digital. Aksyon TV will carry all March Madness games, while ESPN5 will show key games live on same-day telecast. The games can also be watched on espn5.com and via the ESPN Player app.