Collegiate All-Star Game mentors Chris Tiu and Borgie Hermida face each other in a staredown during the Filoil Flying V Pre-Season press conference on Wednesday. (FCF / Vyn Radovan)

Nine of the ten NCAA schools and all eight UAAP schools, plus CESAFI champions Southwestern University will take part in the men’s division of the 2013 Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Premier Cup, which kicks off on Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Opening the festivities will be a blockbuster tripleheader pitting defending pre-season champions National University against three-time defending NCAA seniors champions San Beda College at 2:00 pm. Traditional UAAP rivals University of Santo Tomas takes on a retooled De La Salle University at 4:00pm, while five-time defending UAAP men’s basketball titlists and 2011 Filoil Flying V Pre-Season champs Ateneo de Manila University takes on CESAFI champions Southwestern University in a rematch of last year’s PCCL Final Four showdown.

As in previous years, the 18 teams will be equally sub-divided into two groups and all teams in the same group will face each other in a single-round robin.

Teams from Group A include NCAA squads Arellano University, De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Jose Rizal University, University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, and San Beda College. Defending champions National University, Far Eastern University, and University of the Philippines from the UAAP rounds out the cast of Group A.

Comprising of Group B will be Adamson University, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of the East, and University of Santo Tomas from the UAAP; Letran College, Lyceum of the Philippines, and San Sebastian College-Recoletos from the NCAA; and guest team Southwestern University from CESAFI.

Notably, the Mapua Institute of Technology squad of newly installed mentor Atoy Co has begged off from competing.

Highlighting this year’s competition will be the Master Gameface All-Star Challenge, featuring at least one player from each of the 18 teams, to be held on June 8 at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The squads will be mentored by former collegiate stars Chris Tiu and Borgie Hermida respectively.

Tiu, who made his mark with Ateneo in the UAAP during the mid-2000s, will have players from the squads of Group B. Hermida, who steered San Beda to multiple NCAA seniors’ hoops titles in the late 2000s, will mentor the All-Stars from Group A.

Selection of teams’ starting lineups will be done via online voting starting April 17 up to May 19 at the Master Game Face Voting App on facebook.com/MasterPhilippines. An additional 13 reserves will be selected by Chris Tiu and Borgie Hermida to complete their respective lineups. As an incentive to those who will vote, ten of those who will be able to correctly guess the starters will receive two courtside tickets to the game.

Also, ten squads from the UAAP and WNCAA will strut their wares on the hardcourt for the first-ever women’s division tourney in the eighth edition of the pre-season tournament.

Group A comprises of Adamson, FEU, Benilde, UST, and UP; while Group B features Ateneo, La Salle, Lyceum, National U, and Centro Escolar University.