What is the Importance of Pre-Season Tournaments to Collegiate Basketball?

Not everyone knows about the importance of pre-season tournaments such as the FilOil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup not just to collegiate basketball but also to Philippine basketball as a whole but yes, these tournaments have played a significant role in the continuous growth of our local basketball scene. 

And since the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has forced league officials to cancel the 2020 FilOil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup which would have given us a glimpse of things to come in the upcoming college basketball season, not only will the San Beda Red Lions have to wait until next year to defend their title, the ongoing pandemic has impacted not just collegiate basketball but entire Philippine sports as a whole with more events getting canceled here and there. But aside from building up the hype leading into the new seasons of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA), pre-season tournaments have played a key role in the development of players especially those who are incoming rookies and players who haven't gotten any playing minutes.

For one, the exposure that a rising collegiate star gets in any pre-season tournament that he plays in, allows basketball scouts and even coaches in the professional ranks to get a glimpse of what he can actually do and perhaps, that's one of the main roles of holding a pre-season: to showcase the talent of new basketball players in the college level who in turn, will become the next generation of basketball superstars. These tournaments, which for some aren't worth the time, provide an additional platform for collegiate teams to experiment with their line-ups with different mixtures of manpower and tactics by the coach to find that "perfect combination" in time for the respective regular seasons. Playing in pre-season tournaments helps teams prepare better and make the necessary adjustments for their campaigns aside from the fact that these tournaments also help in keeping players' bodies in basketball shape especially those who haven't played ball in a long time. 

Another thing that makes pre-season tournaments valuable to Philippine basketball is that it continues to keep the fire of interest burning among fans as pre-season games allow fan engagement especially for players whom they are seeing for the first time. 

But perhaps, one thing that makes a pre-season tournament essential especially to a country's national team program is that as early as the pre-season, the officials of the national team program such as the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) can plan ahead of time that they would contact this certain player after they collegiate career for a spot in the national team. 

Regardless of what others think about pre-season tournaments such as that of FilOil Flying V, It plays one important role in the continuous growth of the basketball community of a country: it serves as a starting point of players who would become big stars not just locally but also in the international scene. Pre-season tournaments may be considered as a showcase for some but still, it doesn't make these games anything less competitive. If anything, pre-season games bring the same level of excitement as that of the regular-season games. 

To answer the question of whether or not pre-season tournaments are important: Yes. They are important especially for a basketball-crazy country such as the Philippines. 

Photo is from Rappler