THE NCAA is plotting to hold face-to-face Season 97 competitions in basketball and volleyball in February next year.

After migrating online for Season 96 taekwondo (poomsae and speed kicking) and chess tournaments by the league’s previous host Letran, incoming host College of Saint Benilde is looking at holding the games physically.

Incoming NCAA Management Committee chairman Dax Castellano on Friday said that the league is already on the planning stage for its calendar of events for Season 97.

“The resumption of competition is in February. We agreed on the level of the Management Committee (to do face-to-face), but still we need the approval from the Policy Board,” Castellano said during a press conference held at Letran in Intramuros.

“We agreed to do it with basketball and volleyball and some online events. We’ll do face-to-face basketball and volleyball,” he added.

The decision of MANCOM to seriously consider face-to-face games has been solidified by the vaccination program of the Commission of Higher Education (CHEd), which initiated a two-day vaccination for the league’s student-athletes that started last Thursday at the Jose Rizal University in Mandaluyong City.

Letran was the vaccination site of CHEd’s “Padyak Tungo sa Flexible Learning: Sama-samang Vaccination Program” in preparation for the face-to-face classes and future tournaments.

Outgoing MANCOM chairman Fr. Vic Calvo said that some 100 student-athletes participated, mostly from provinces who returned to Manila.

“We have student-athletes who were vaccinated already. I think from the 10 schools… 90 percent were vaccinated already from the different LGUs the previous months,” said Calvo.

Only online games were played in Season 96 as approved by the league, which were shown on GTV channel 11 of GMA Network – the league’s new television coveror.

CSB dominated the men’s and women’s speed kicking events of taekwondo, while San Beda toped the juniors side. San Beda also ruled in the seniors’ poomsae event, while Emilio Aguinaldo College swept the juniors competition.

Lyceum of the Philippines University won the seniors’ chess meet courtesy of Neymark Digno, while Letran turned to FIDE Master Christian Mark Daluz to emerge victorious in the juniors’ side.

In the special competitions featuring the league’s alumni athletes, Letran’s Mikaela Lopez had a successful comeback by copping the volleyball skills challenge plum, while LPU’s Kim Cinco took the basketball skills challenge trophy.