A triple-header beckons for basketball fans this weekend, with the seventh season of the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup opening on April 13 at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Defending champions National University will face the reigning NCAA champions San Beda to kick off the action at 2pm. UAAP losing finalist University of Santo Tomas faces La Salle at 4pm, while closing out the tripleheader at 6pm is guest team Southwestern University facing the reigning UAAP champions Ateneo.
NU won't have Jul-Ashri Ignacio, Ajeet Singh and Henri Betayene (who will miss the upcoming UAAP season due to a knee injury), but will have newcomers JJ Alejandro and Alred Arogo to fill the gaps. The Bulldogs of Coach E will still have the two-time MVP Rayray Parks to lead them.
For San Beda, they will have a new coach, as Ronnie Magsanoc was replaced by Boyet Fernandez, who handles the NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA D-League. The Red Lions will have the Semerad twins back after missing last season due to a failed attempt to transfer to Ateneo. The two will attempt to provide experience and depth with the graduation of Jake Pascual, Anjo Caram and Melo Lim.
The 2nd game will feature a Green Archer team seeking to reclaim recent glory, with the acquisition of St. John's Institute of Bacolod standout Kib Montalbo joining forces with the likes of Jeron Teng and Norbert Torres. Meanwhile, the Growling Tigers virtually will retain the same core that went toe-to-toe against Ateneo in the UAAP Finals.
The last match in the tripleheader will feature an Ateneo team preparing for the virtually unprecedented attempt to secure their sixth straight UAAP crown. Losing Norman Black and a set core of veterans in Greg Slaughter, Justin Chua, Nico Salva, Oping Sumalinog and Tonino Gonzaga, it will be up to Ryan Buenafe, Kiefer Ravena, Juami Tiongson and new head coach Bo Perasol to keep that title run going. They will face the CESAFI champions, whom they previously have faced in the 2012 PCCL Final Four. The Cobras won't have Ben Mbala, as the big man has since transferred to La Salle, but they will have a 6'10" center Siewe Armel to fill in those big shoes.
The Premier Cup will have a juniors division, with twelve teams (Group A: LSGH, Letran, NU, UST, San Beda, UP; Group B: Arellano, Ateneo, DLSZ, FEU-FERN, Mapua, San Sebastian) taking part. They open play on April 17, with UST against Letran.
Another new wrinkle in the Premier Cup will be the debut of the women's division. Ten teams (Adamson, Ateneo, CEU, CSB, La Salle, FEU, Lyceum, NU, UP and UST) will participate in the inaugural edition, which will also kick off with UST against FEU on April 17.
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