THE University of Cebu Webmasters and the Southwestern University Cobras have already nabbed slots to the Sweet 16 round of the 2011 Philippine Collegiate Champions League which starts later this month in several regional championships.
The two squads automatically qualified by reaching the finals of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI). This also marks the first time that the University of the Visayas Green Lancers failed to make it to the tournament outright since the league’s creation.
The Webmasters and the Cobras are expected to take on the champions from the Visayas and Mindanao in the “step-ladder” phase of the tournament which will determine who will make it to the Final Four. Already there are UAAP champions Ateneo and NCAA titlists San Beda College, leaving only two spots for the Luzon and Southern Islands champions.
Teams that completed the Final Four of the UAAP – Far Eastern University, Adamson and University of Santo Tomas – and the NCAA – San Sebastian College, Letran and Jose Rizal University – are also in the Sweet 16, vying for the Luzon championship.
Four seats in the Sweet 16 are at stake at the regional championships to be held Nov. 7-8 in Vigan City, Nov. 11-12 in Naga City, Nov. 15-16 in Davao City and Nov. 27-28 in Ormoc City.
The remaining two seats will be contested by eight Metro Manila teams – National University, De La Salle, Mapua , Lyceum, University of Manila, St. Francis of Assissi, Centro Escolar University and Technological Institute of the Philippines – on Nov. 8-10, at the Arena. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio