Simplified March Madness schedule for Filipino viewers: Elite Eight

Here is the official schedule of games for the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.

March 30:

6:09 a.m. (11) Dayton vs (1) Florida

8:49 a.m. (2) Wisconsin vs (1) Arizona

March 31: 

2:20 a.m. (4) Michigan State vs (7) Connecticut

5:05 a.m. (2) Michigan vs (8) Kentucky

Sports5 has acquired the rights to telecast the games here in the Philippines, and here is their schedule of games as of the moment. If game is italicized, game is to be shown LIVE here.

March 30 (Sunday)

6am-8:30am – Dayton vs Florida (TV5 & HYPER)

8:30am-10:30am – Wisconsin vs Arizona (TV5 & HYPER)

7:30pm-11:30pm – Dayton vs Florida & Wisconsin vs Arizona (Aksyon TV)

March 31 (Monday)

2:10am: Connecticut vs Michigan St. (HYPER)

4:55am - Michigan vs Kentucky (HYPER)

9:30am – Michigan vs Kentucky (TV5)

3:30pm: Connecticut vs Michigan St. (Aksyon TV)

8pm: Michigan vs Kentucky (Aksyon TV)

Simplified March Madness schedule for Filipino viewers: Sweet 16 edition

Here is the official schedule of games for the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

March 28 (in Memphis and Anaheim)

7:15 a.m (11) Dayton vs (10) Stanford
7:47 a.m. (6) Baylor vs (2) Wisconsin
9:45 a.m. (4) UCLA vs (1) Florida
10:17 a.m. (4) San Diego State vs (1) Arizona

March 29 (in New York and Indianapolis)

7:15 a.m. (11) Tennessee vs (2) Michigan
7:27 a.m. (7) Connecticut vs (3) Iowa State
9:45 a.m. (8) Kentucky vs (4) Louisville
9:57 a.m. (4) Michigan State vs (1) Virginia

Sports5 has acquired the rights to telecast the games here in the Philippines, and here is their schedule of games as of the moment. If game is italicized, game is to be shown LIVE here.

March 28

7:00 a.m. — (11) Dayton vs (10) Stanford (HYPER)
9:30 a.m. — (4) UCLA vs (1) Florida (HYPER & TV5)
12 noon — (6) Baylor vs (2) Wisconsin (HYPER)
2:00 p.m. — (4) San Diego St. vs (1) Arizona (HYPER)
4:00 p.m. — (11) Dayton vs (10) Stanford (Aksyon TV)
6:00 p.m. — (4) UCLA vs (1) Florida (Aksyon TV)

March 29

7:00 a.m. — (11) Tennessee vs  (2) Michigan (HYPER)
9:30 a.m. — (8) Kentucky vs (4) Louisville (HYPER & TV5)
12 noon — (7) Connecticut vs (3) Iowa St. (HYPER)
2:00 p.m. — (4) Michigan St. vs (1) Virginia (HYPER)
7:30 p.m. — (11) Tennessee vs (2) Michigan (Aksyon TV)
10:30 p.m. — (8) Kentucky vs (4) Louisville (Aksyon TV)

Simplified March Madness schedule for Filipino viewers: Round of 32 edition

Here is the official schedule of games for the NCAA Tournament's Third Round. (Although the diehards maintain that this is really the second round, due to their belief that the First Four does not constitute as the First Round, as what the NCAA insists)

March 23 (in Buffalo, Milwaukee, Orlando and Spokane)

12:15 a.m. (9) Pittsburgh vs (1) Florida
2:45 a.m. (5) Saint Louis vs (4) Louisville
5:15 a.m. (7) Texas vs (2) Michigan
6:10 a.m. (12) North Dakota St. vs (4) San Diego State
7:10 a.m. (11) Dayton vs (3) Syracuse
7:45 a.m. (7) Oregon vs (2) Wisconsin
8:40 a.m. (12) Harvard vs (4) Michigan State
9:40 a.m. (7) Connecticut vs (2) Villanova

March 24 (in Raleigh, San Antonio, San Diego and St. Louis)

12:15 a.m (2) Kansas vs (10) Stanford

2:45 a.m (1) Wichita State vs (8) Kentucky

5:15 a.m (3) Iowa State vs (6) North Carolina

6:10 a.m (11) Tennessee vs (14) Mercer

7:10 a.m (4) UCLA vs (12) Stephen F. Austin

7:40 a.m (3) Creighton vs (6) Baylor

8:40 a.m (1) Virginia vs (8) Memphis

9:40 a.m (1) Arizona vs (8) Gonzaga

Sports5 has acquired the rights to telecast the games here in the Philippines, and here is their schedule of games as of the moment. If game is italicized, game is to be shown LIVE here.

March 23

2:45 a.m. (5) Saint Louis vs (4) Louisville (HYPER)

5:15 a.m. (7) Texas vs (2) Michigan (HYPER)

7:45 a.m. (7) Oregon vs (2) Wisconsin (HYPER)

9:40 a.m. (7) Connecticut vs (2) Villanova (TV5 & HYPER)

Starting 7:30 pm Texas vs Michigan & Connecticut vs Villanova (Aksyon TV)

March 24

2:30am: Kentucky vs Wichita St. (HYPER)

5:00 a.m. North Carolina vs Iowa St. (HYPER)

7:30am: Baylor vs Creighton (HYPER)

10:00 a.m: Gonzaga vs Arizona (TV5 & HYPER)

12:00 nn: Mercer vs Tennessee (HYPER)

2pm: Memphis vs Virginia (HYPER)

4pm: SF Austin vs UCLA (HYPER)

Starting 4:00 p.m. North Carolina vs Iowa St & Gonzaga vs Arizona (Aksyon TV)

Simplified March Madness schedule for Filipino viewers: Round of 64 edition

Here is the official schedule of games for the NCAA Tournament's Second Round. (Although the diehards maintain that this is really the first round, due to their belief that the First Four does not constitute as the First Round, as what the NCAA insists)

March 21 (in Buffalo, Milwaukee, Orlando and Spokane)

12 a.m. - (11) Dayton vs (6) Ohio State
12:30 a.m - (15) American vs (2) Wisconsin
1:30 a.m. - (9) Pittsburgh vs (8) Colorado
2:00 a.m. - (12) Harvard vs (5) Cincinnati
2:45 a.m. - (14) Western Michigan vs (3) Syracuse
3:10 a.m. - (10) BYU vs (7) Oregon
4:10 a.m - (16) Albany vs (1) Florida
4:40 a.m. - (13) Delaware vs (4) Michigan State
6:55 a.m. - (10) Saint Joseph's vs Connecticut
7:10 a.m. - (15) Wofford vs (2) Michigan
7:20 a.m. - (12) NC State vs (5) Saint Louis
7:27 a.m - (12) North Dakota St. vs (5) Oklahoma
9:25 a.m. - (15) Milwaukee vs (2) Villanova
9:40 a.m. - (10) Arizona State vs (7) Texas
9:50 a.m. - (13) Manhattan vs (4) Louisville
9:57 a.m. - (13) New Mexico St. vs (4) San Diego State

March 22 (in Raleigh, San Antonio, San Diego and St. Louis)

12 a.m. - (14) Mercer vs (3) Duke
12:30 a.m. - (11) Nebraska vs (6) Baylor
1:30 a.m. - (10) Stanford vs (7) New Mexico
2:00 a.m. - (16) Weber State vs (1) Arizona
2:45 a.m. - (11) Tennessee vs (6) Massachusetts
3:10 a.m. - (14) La.-Lafayette vs (3) Creighton
4:10 a.m. - (15) Eastern Kentucky vs (2) Kansas
4:40 a.m. - (9) Oklahoma State vs (8) Gonzaga
6:55 a.m. - (9) Geo. Washington vs (8) Memphis
7:10 a.m. - (16) Cal Poly vs (1) Wichita State
7:20 a.m. - (11) Providence vs (6) North Carolina
7:27 a.m. - (12) Steph.F. Austin vs (5) VCU
9:25 a.m. - (16) Coastal Caro. vs (1) Virginia
9:40 a.m. - (9) Kansas State vs (8) Kentucky
9:50 a.m. - (14) N.C. Central vs (3) Iowa State
9:57 a.m. - (13) Tulsa vs (4) UCLA

Sports5 has acquired the rights to telecast the games here in the Philippines, and here is their schedule of games as of late last night. If game is italicized, game is to be shown LIVE here.

March 21 7 a.m. — (15) Wofford vs (2) Michigan (HYPER)
March 21 9:30 a.m. — (10) Arizona St. vs (7) Texas (TV5 & HYPER)
March 21 12 noon — (15) American vs (2) Wisconsin (HYPER)
March 21 2 p.m. — (10) BYU vs (7) Oregon (HYPER)
March 21 4 p.m. — (9) Pittsburgh vs (8) Colorado (Aksyon TV)
March 21 6 p.m. — (16) Albany vs (1) Florida (Aksyon TV)

March 22 3 a.m. — (14) Mercer vs (3) Duke (HYPER)
March 22 5 a.m. — (11) Tennessee vs (6) Massachusetts (HYPER)
March 22 7 a.m. — (16) Cal Poly vs (1)Wichita St. (HYPER)
March 22 9:30 a.m. — (9) Kansas St. vs (8) Kentucky (TV5 & HYPER)
March 22 7:30 p.m. — (9) Kansas St. vs (8) Kentucky (Aksyon TV)
March 22 10:30 p.m. — (16) Cal Poly vs (1) Wichita St. (Aksyon TV)

March 25 2 a.m. — (13) Delaware vs (4) Michigan St. (HYPER)
March 25 4 a.m. — (12) NC State vs (5) St. Louis (HYPER)
March 25 6 a.m. — (12) North Dakota St. vs (5) Oklahoma (HYPER)
March 25 10 a.m. — (13) Manhattan vs (4) Louisville (HYPER)
March 25 10 a.m. — (13) Delaware vs (4) Michigan St. (TV5)
March 25 12 noon — (13) New Mexico St. vs (4) San Diego St. (HYPER)
March 25 2 p.m. — (12) Harvard vs (4) Cincinnati (HYPER)
March 25 3 p.m. — (13) Delaware vs (4) Michigan St. (Aksyon TV)
March 25 10 p.m. — (12) North Dakota St. vs (5) Oklahoma (Aksyon TV)

March 26 6 a.m. — (16) Weber St vs (1) Arizona (HYPER)
March 26 8 a.m. — (9) Oklahoma St. vs (8) Gonzaga (HYPER)
March 26 10 a.m. — (11) Providence vs (6) North Carolina (TV5 & HYPER)
March 26 12 noon — (12) SF Austin vs (5) VCU (HYPER)
March 26 4 p.m. — (9) Oklahoma St. vs (8) Gonzaga (Aksyon TV)
March 26 6 p.m. — (11) Providence vs (6) North Carolina (Aksyon TV)

March 27 10 a.m. — (13) Tulsa vs (4) UCLA (TV5)
March 27 3 p.m. — (16) Weber St. vs (1) Arizona (Aksyon TV)
March 27 10 p.m. — (13) Tulsa vs (4) UCLA (Aksyon TV)

Clear Dream Match 3 now official

A few days ago, we got this on our emails.

March 10 turned out to be the date of the press conference for the third CLEAR Dream Match.

Now with both #TeamPhil and #TeamJames each with a win already under their belts, the third match aims to be the one to determine the supremacy of which Younghusband is better.

This time, the stakes get higher. No more celebrity cameos. All participants will be coming from the United Football League. The Top 50 players based on their statistics were placed in a pool from which fans can select the players from which both sides will pick from. All the fans need to do is to visit www.cleardreammatch.com.ph and register. By May, the pool will be finalized and the draft will be set.

Just like a year ago, a couple of legends will be joining Phil and James on the field, and thanks to CLEAR's tie-up with Manchester United in the region, a couple of iconic Red Devils will be coming in to participate.

Paul Scholes and Andy Cole has been enlisted to be a part of #TeamPhil & #TeamJames in the festivities.

As always, the Tuloy Sa Don Bosco Foundation will be the beneficiary of the event.

The Madness is Coming... to TV5

The greatest knockout tournament in American sports is coming to free tv.

The past few years, we have witnessed it on BTV. Now, TV5 wants in, after bringing in the Super Bowl (and getting Good Morning Club to cut an hour from its normal sked), we have the NCAA Tournament. Sports5 will air 44 of the 67 games in the Tournament on either TV5, Aksyon TV or HYPER, as well as streamed live and on-demand to PLDT Home Fibr subscribers via TVolution..

Selection Sunday just took place this past Monday morning here in Manila. From here, the road to Cowboys Stadium is set.

The tournament officially begins on Tuesday (Wednesday morning in Manila) at Dayton, Ohio with the First Four, or officially known as the First Round. The latest additions to the current NCAA format, the First Four are the play-in matches spread over two days, that whittles the 68-team field into 64, setting up the bracket. It used to be one game, but now evolved into four, with two games involving the lowest-ranked teams, and the other two teams being the "last four" teams that got in the tournament. Normally, this involves the 11th or 12th seed.

Here are the First Four games on Wednesday morning:

South 16th seeds: Mount St. Mary's (16-16) against Albany (18-14) - 6:40 am tip off LIVE on HYPER, 4pm replay on Aksyon TV. Winner plays overall top seed Florida.

Midwest 12th seeds: North Carolina State (21-13) against Xavier (21-12) - 9:10 am tip off LIVE on TV5 & HYPER, 6:30pm replay on Aksyon TV. Winner plays 5th seed Saint Louis.

Here are the First Four games on Thursday morning:

Midwest 16th seeds: Cal Poly (13-19) against Texas Southern (19-14) - 6:40 am tip off LIVE on HYPER, 3pm replay on Aksyon TV. Winner plays undefeated Wichita State.

Midwest 11th seeds: Iowa (20-12) against Tennessee (21-12) - 9:10 am tip off LIVE on TV5 & HYPER, 10pm replay on Aksyon TV. Winner plays 6th seed UMass.

Chiang Kai Shek & Hope Christian tip off Seaoil NBTC Finals

Chiang Kai Shek and Hope Chiristian resume their rivalry as they highlight the first day of hoops for the Seaoil-NBTC National High School Championships at the Ynares Arena in Pasig.

The two schools have faced each other for a championship thrice in the past year, with Hope Christian claiming the last year's Tiong Lian title and Chiang Kai Shek claiming both the Fil-Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation Championship last August and the recently concluded Seaoil Metro Manila Basketball League.

With San Beda missing out and not making it to the finals proper, it is a wide-open race to the title. Tournament Director Ato Badolato believes that is a good sign as it means there is a sign of improvement with regards to the quality of players and coaches across the country.

Seaoil-NBTC National Program Director Eric Altamirano is excited for the finals to begin, as for him, this is the culmination of the months of preparation that took place all across the archipelago. The Seaoil-NBTC Finals serve as the highlight of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas' grassroots program.

The 24 schools who are participating in the finals have been bracketed into two divisions:

Div I

Group A: Chiang Kai Shek, Hope Christian, National University-B
Group B: St. Francis of Assisi-Cavite, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, National University-A
Group C: West Negros, University of San Carlos, Iloilo Central Commercial
Group D: Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori (Cagayan de Oro), Assumption College-Davao, Southern City College (Zamboanga)

Div II

Group A: Olongapo City National, Assumption-Pampanga, Divine World Academy (Dagupan)
Group B: University of the Cordilleras (Baguio), Jesus the Loving Shepherd (Naga), La Salle-Lipa
Group C: Reedley International School, Mandaue, Bethel Baptist Christian (Bukidnon)
Group D: San Benildo, Trinity University of Asia, Jubilee Christian Academy.


In addition to the Chiang Kai Shek vs Hope Christian match, the other matches to be played today at Ynares are Iloilo Central vs West Negros at 1pm, followed by NU-A vs Sacred Heart at 3pm.

At the CCF gym, Olongapo National plays Assumption-Pampanga at 12nn, followed by Reedley vs Bethel Baptist.

Format is relatively simple, each group will play a single-round elimination. Top two teams advance to crossover quarterfinals (Group A vs Group B & Group C vs Group D). QF winners will advance to the crossover semifinals. The QF & SF will be played on March 8. The Div I & Div II finalists will face each other on March 9, which will then be followed by the third-ever Seaoil-NBTC High School All-Star Game.

The Seaoil-NBTC National High School Championships is backed by the MVP Sports Foundation, Meralco, Smart, NLEX, Maynilad, Philex, Philippine Star and Molten.

17-man SMART-Gilas Pilipinas pool revealed

Chot Reyes has revealed the composition of the pool from which the FIBA World Cup (where the team is grouped with (Argentina, Greece, Puerto Rico, Croatia and Senegal) and the Asian Games roster will be based on.

The team that played their way to second place in the FIBA-Asia Men's Basketball Championships at the Mall of Asia Arena comprises the bulk of the pool. (Jimmy Alapag, LA Tenorio, Jayson Castro, Larry Fonacier, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Gary David, Ranidel de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, Japeth Aguilar, Junemar Fajardo and Marcus Douthit).

Three players familiar with the pool also make their return in Jared Dillinger, whose car accident took him out of consideration for the final roster last year, and the two players considered as the final cuts for the FIBA-Asia squad in Greg Slaughter and Beau Belga.

Marcio Lassiter, who was part of the first SMART-Gilas team under the reins of Rajko Toroman, and Paul Lee complete the call-up. The final piece of the pool, Brooklyn Nets big man Andray Blatche, still needs Congressional approval with regards to his naturalization.

Once-a-week practices began last Monday, and will continue until regular practices can commence.

Chot Reyes thanked the team owners and PBA Board of Governors for their continued partnership with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas with regards to the national team, as well as the chance to make his selection.

Cheerleading Competition to end 89th NCAA Season

The Altas Perps Squad of the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta seeks to defend its title at the NCAA Cheerleading Competition this Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The event will be broadcast LIVE on TV5 starting at 12NN.

The exciting Cheerleading Competition concludes the successful 89th Season of the NCAA which was hosted by De La Salle – College of St. Benilde.

The Altas Perps Squad is eyeing a five-peat of the competition and a historic eighth title in the past decade. The Las Pinas based school has lorded it over the nine other schools in the competition for the past ten years.

The other teams participating in this annual event are the: San Beda Red Corps, Golden Stags Cheerleading Squad, EAC Generals Pep Squad, Arellano University Chiefs Squad, LPU Pirates Pep Squad, JRU Bombers Pep Squad, the Letran Cheerleading Team All Stars and from 89th Season host school, CSB Pep Squad. 

“This season has been a tremendous one for the NCAA and Sports5. The collegiate league gave audiences thrilling sports action not just in basketball but also in other sports, especially volleyball. We’re looking ahead to another action-packed season in June,” Head of Sports5 Chot Reyes said.

Next up for Sports5, the sports division of TV5, is the much-awaited US NCAA March Madness starting March 17, then the PLDT HOME Asian Men's Volleyball Club Championships on April 8.  Of course, these are on top of Sports5's staple sports programs like the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), United Football League (UFL), and Pacific X-Treme Combat (PXC).#

Seaoil NBTC Finals and All-Star Game Finalized

This week, the best secondary school of the country will be determined, as 24 schools face-off in the Seaoil-NBTC National High School Championships.

Subdivided into Div I and Div II, the twelve schools were further separated into four groups of three teams. They will play a round-robin on March 6 and 7, with the top two teams moving on to the crossover quarterfinals. The top four teams will advance in the semifinals. Both the quarter and semis will be played on March 8, with the championships to be played on March 9.

Ynares Arena in Pasig will host the opening ceremonies (530pm on March 6) and finals (8am & 10am on March 9), as well as most of the games, while CCF, Treston, Meralco and Xavier will be the other venues for the fixtures.

DIVISION 1
A	B		C	D
CKSC	CAVITE		BACOLOD	CDO
HOPE	SHS (Ceb2)		USC (Ceb1)	DAVAO
NU-B	NU-A		ILOILO	ZAMBOANGA
DIVISION 2
A	B		C	D
OLONGAPO	BAGUIO		REEDLEY	S.BENILDO
PAMPANGA	NAGA		MANDAUE	TRINITY UNIV.
DAGUPAN	BATANGAS		BUKIDNON	JUBILEE

Meanwhile, 30 players who made the Seaoil NBTC High School All-Star Game will have scheduled training with Philippines U-16 team coach Jamike Jarin on March 7. The teams have been sorted already into the two teams, but no details have been available as to which team will JB Sison or Jeff Napa will handle.

Light (Seaoil Mako)

Mohammad SALIM (Chiang Kai Shek)
Ivan VILLANUEVA (Letran)
John APACIBLE (Hope Christian)
Jobert MERCADO (Hope Christian)
Arjan DELA CRUZ (Hope Christian)
Janhubert CANI (National University)
John Paul CAUILAN (National University)
Lorenzo BATTAD (National University)
Javee MOCON (San Beda)
Ranbill TONGCO (San Beda)
Michael CALISAAN (San Sebastian)
Jarell LIM (Xavier)
Allen DELOS SANTOS (Claret School - Zamboanga)
Glenn GALLARDO (Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori - Cagayan de Oro)
Keith Lowell PIDO (West Negros)

Dark (Seaoil Extreme)

Thirdy RAVENA (Ateneo)
Rashleigh Paolo RIVERO (La Salle Greenhills)
Richard ESCOTO (Far Eastern University)
Justin SERRANO (Malayan HS)
Manuel MOSQUEDA (National University)
Adven DIPUTADO (San Beda)
Arvin TOLENTINO (San Beda)
Alfren GAYOSA (San Sebastian)
Ryan Paule COSTELO (San Sebastian)
Renzo SUBIDO (La Salle-Zobel)
Diego Miguel DARIO (UPIS)
Isaac GO (Xavier)
Arnie PADILLA (Sacred Heart School - Cebu)
Joshua EDJAN (Hua Siong College - Iloilo)
Allyn BULANADI (Assumption College - Davao)