COLLEGIATE rivals get an early workout as the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup tips off on May 6 at Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Seven of the eight University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) teams are bracketed in one group with champion Ateneo, runner-up University of the Philippines and defending preseason champio National University leading the charge.
Also part of the group are Adamson University, De La Salle, University of the East and Far Eastern University.
Completing the 10-team group are National Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities champion St. Clare College of Caloocan, Universities and Colleges Basketball League champion Centro Escolar University and FAITH College of Batangas from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) South.
The NCAA bracket will have all 10 member-schools led by “three-peat” champion Letran, runner-up College of Saint Benilde and perennial contender San Beda.
Rounding out the pool are Lyceum of the Philippines University, San Sebastian, Arellano University, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, Mapua University, Jose Rizal University and Emilio Aguinaldo College.
Teams will undergo a round-robin format for the eliminations with the top three teams in each bracket securing outright quarterfinals berths.
The fourth-ranked teams from each group will still have a chance through the play-in games. But they will have to go through another play-in games for the last two quarterfinal slots against Luzon representative Guang Ming College and the still to be determined Visayas-Mindanao representative.
From there, the crossover knockout playoffs take effect.
League chairman Rey Gamboa, commissioners Joe Lipa and Bert dela Rosa, tournament director Bennett Palad, media head and consultant Virgil Villavicencio and marketing and finance head Diana Layug lead the 16th edition of the tournament.