SEASON 87 of the NCAA basketball tournament opens to much fanfare today at the Araneta Coliseum as it will be ushered in by Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao is slated to be the guest speaker of the event’s grand opening ceremonies at 1 p.m. before the hostilities commence at 2 p.m.
The first game will be between the reigning champions San Beda Red Lions and the Perpetual Help Altas.
This will be followed by the tiff between last year’s runners-up and 2009 champions San Sebastian Golden Stags and the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers.
The final game of the triple-bill will be between the Letran Knights and the Mapua Cardinals.
The Red Lions hold a lot of aces in the form of wingman Garvo Lanete and big men Dave Marcelo, Jake Pascual and Rome dela Rosa, among others. All eyes will also be on the Stags, who will have Topex Robinson replacing Turo Valenzona on the sidelines. Correspondent Jonas Panerio