A celebration of stars from the entertainment and amateur sports will be the theme of NCAA Season 97’s opening day.
After an hour-long opening ceremony that will feature the brightest stars of GMA 7, Colegio de San Juan de Letran opens its title defense campaign against College of Saint Benilde at 3:30 PM at La Salle Green Hills.
Then at 7:00 PM, San Beda University will face Lyceum of the Philippines University.
“For two years, we’ve been waiting for contact sports to return, and we’re excited to have basketball and volleyball games back,” said NCAA Season 97 chairman Dax Castellano. “And for this year, we continue to hold online chess and online taekwondo tournaments.
“The preparations are still very challenging with the pandemic situation, but with the support of GMA, I know this will be a successful season.”
For the rest of the single round robin, elimination round, games will be held at 12:00 NN and 3:00 PM every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
San Sebastian College-Recoletos and Arellano University face off to open their campaign on Sunday, March 27 at 12 followed by Mapua University versus Emilio Aguinaldo College at 3 PM.
The last to make their season debut are Jose Rizal University and University of Perpetual Help System DALTA on March 29 at 12:00NN.
The finals rematch between the Knights and the Red Lions will happen on April 12 at 12:000 NN.
The rest of the schedule is as follows:
March 29, Tuesday
3:00PM: LPU vs CSB
March 30, Wednesday
12:00NN: AU vs CSJL
3:00PM: EAC vs SBU
April 1, Friday
12:00NN: UPHSD vs SSCR
3:00PM: JRU vs MU
April 2, Saturday
12:00NN: CSB vs AU
3:00PM: LPU vs EAC
April 3, Sunday
12:00NN: CSJL vs UPHSD
3:00PM: SBU vs JRU
April 5, Tuesday
12:00NN: SSCR vs MU
3:00PM: EAC vs CSB
April 6, Wednesday
12:00NN: UPHSD vs AU
3:00PM: JRU vs LPU
April 8, Friday
12:00NN: MU vs CSJL
3:00PM: SSCR vs SBU
April 9, Saturday
12:00NN: CSB vs UPHSD
3:00PM: EAC vs JRU
April 10, Sunday
12:00NN: AU vs MU
3:00PM: LPU vs SSCR
April 12, Tuesday
12:00NN: CSJL vs SBU
3:00PM: JRU vs CSB
April 13, Wednesday
12:00NN: MU vs UPHSD
3:00PM: SSCR vs EAC
April 17, Sunday
12:00NN: SBU vs AU
3:00PM: CSJL vs LPU
April 19, Tuesday
12:00NN: CSB vs MU
3:00PM: JRU vs SSCR
April 20, Wednesday
12:00NN: UPHSD vs SBU
3:00PM: EAC vs CSJL
April 22, Friday
12:00NN: AU vs LPU
3:00PM: SSCR vs CSB
April 23, Saturday
12:00NN: SBU vs MU
3:00PM: CSJL vs JRU
April 24, Sunday
12:00NN: LPU vs UPHSD
3:00PM: AU vs EAC
April 26, Tuesday
12:00NN: CSB vs SBU
3:00PM: SSCR vs CSJL
April 27, Wednesday
12:00NN: MU vs LPU
3:00PM: JRU vs AU
April 29, Friday
12:00NN: UPHSD vs EAC
The top two teams after the elimination round will advance to the final four and will hold a twice-to-beat advantage.
The next four teams in the standings will figure in a play-in on May 1 with the third and fourth ranked squads battling it out for the third seed. The fifth and sixth ranked teams will fight it out in a knockout game.
Then on May 3, the loser of the third seed game and the winner of the KO match will square off for the fourth seed.
The finals will still be a best-of-three.
