UAAP and NCAA in One League: Do you want the Merger to Happen?

The former head of FIBA during in 1976 up to 1980, Mr. Gonzalo “Lito” Puyat wants to merge the University Athletic Association (UAAP) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) into one big league. He expressly said his idea in an interview. He said that:

“I am more than willing to help open the door for the merger of the country’s two biggest and popular collegiate leagues. I knock on the patriotic fervor of the gentlemen and women behind the success of the UAAP and NCAA to explore a merger [which] will result in a stronger and solid Philippine basketball.”

I like his idea, that the merger would result into a larger pool of fresh talents merged into one Big League, but it appeared to be redundant because we already have the so called Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL). The PCCL is a league wherein it takes all the top schools from all the leagues in the different regions of the Philippines such as the NCAA, UAAP, NCRAA, etc. and the top teams will go against each other. In short, the PCCL resembles the format of the US NCAA’s March Madness. It also has the Sweet 16, Final 4 and the championship game for the right to be declared as the National Champions.

If ever there will be a merger between the UAAP and the NCAA the school teams in the NCR will have a slimmer chance to compete in the PCCL because the UAAP and the NCAA will be considered as a single conference and in effect there will only be 4-5 teams who will be able to join the PCCL. The lower seeded teams won’t be able to play in the PCCL. That would be unfair and unreasonable. Also, those 2 leagues are two of the oldest college leagues in the country. If you’ll merge them into one, that may be too difficult to handle.

You guys, what can you say about this possible merger?