Eagles, Stags favored

Ateneo and San Sebastian start their quests to win the national championship in two separate venues as the Sweet 16 of the 2009 Philippine Collegiate Champions League begins on Monday.

The Blue Eagles, who bagged the UAAP crown for the second straight season, will make their debut against Lyceum on Wednesday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City while the Stags, the NCAA titlist, travel to Ormoc City to play University of San Carlos on November 30.

Both teams are heavily favored to advance to the best-of-three championship series set for December 9 for leading their respective squads to the title of two of the country's premier collegiate leagues.

But the remaining 14 teams that reach this tournament are also out to prove that they are no pushovers.

La Salle, the reigning national champions, try to defend its crown despite failing to reach the Final Four of the UAAP. While it ransacked the Naga City zonals last week, the Green Archers played minus key players James Mangahas, Kish Co and Bader Malabes.

NCAA runners-up San Beda is out to bounce back from a humiliating sweep to San Sebastian in the finals and likewise its UAAP counterparts University of the East, which lost to Ateneo in three full games.

But one of the dilemmas concerning the Red Warriors is that they will potentially lost four key players in Elmer Espiritu, Val Acuna, Rudy Lingganay and Toto Bandaying after signing with two ASEAN Basketball League teams.

Same case with Ateneo and University of Santo Tomas after the ABL's Philippine Patriots picked up Nonoy Baclao and Khasim Mirza.

The Visayas teams - particularly Cebu-based league CESAFI teams University of the Visayas, University of Cebu and USC - are hoping to prove that their region is also at par with their fabled Metro Manila rivals with this tournament.

It will also showcase another appearance for UV's 6-foot-11 star Greg Slaughter and USC's 6-foot-9 phenom June Mar Fajardo. Both were co-MVP's in the just concluded CESAFI season won by the Green Lancers for the ninth straight time.

Back in Metro Manila, teams from unheralded leagues also want to prove its worth as a legitimate collegiate contender in Lyceum and San Sebastian-Cavite.

The Baycats won the NAASCU title for the second straight year and earned a Sweet 16 spot in the Vis-Min zonals held in Cebu while the Pirates, winners of the newly-formed Interscholastic Athletic Association, reached this tilt after technical issues with the victory of University of Manila.

It seems that the Hawks, second-placers in the NAASCU, were disqualified from earning the Sweet 16 after ineligible players were used in last week's zonals held in Intramuros.

So that perhaps gave the Pirates the right to face Ateneo in the Sweet 16.

Monday's action will pit Far Eastern University against Arellano University at 2pm followed by San Beda against SSC-Cavite at 4pm.