Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erica Dy serves as the special guest of honor when the National Capital Region Athletic Association ushers its 30th season on Friday at the Philsports Arena.

Dy will be the honorary speaker during the 11 a.m. opening ceremony that follows the tipoff between University of Luzon and La Salle Dasmariñas.

NCRAA general manager Buddy Encarnado told the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum that the three-decade league is looking to strengthen its partnership with the country's governing body for basketball as an avenue of discovering new local talent.

"We want to make sure that we have better options, that the basketball industry and NCRAA continue to do our best to discover, if I may emphasized homegrown talent, so we can now truly say we can contribute to the Gilas Pilipinas program," said Encarnado, former PBA chairman and team governor of Sta. Lucia, while mentioning the likes of brothers Ranidel and Yancy de Ocampo, Marc Pingris, Gary David, and Vic Manuel as among those prominent products of the league who went on and served the national team.

"Basically, we want to become a vibrant partner of SBP. We want to ensure that we develop new faces, discover talent from far-flung places. I go around and try to see if there will be some students who can take advantage of the scholarships that schools are offering and at the same time, give life to their dream to become a basketball star."

NCRAA president and professor Mary Grace Demetillo (St. Dominic College of Asia), Benjamin Hernandez (PATTS College of Aeronautics), Hazel Mea (Lyceum University of the Philippines-Laguna), Engr. Ted Cada (AIMS), and Chloe Mamon (Immaculada Concepcion Colleges) joined Encarnado in the session presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, PLDT/Smart, MILO, and the 24/7 sports app in the country, ArenaPlus.

Defending champion Immaculada Concepcion Colleges opens its title defense against Asian Institute of Maritime Studies in the 3 p.m. main game shortly after the 1 p.m. tussle between St. Dominic College of Asia and Bestlink College of the Philippines.

Other schools participating this season are PATTS College of Aeronautics, Lyceum of the Philippines-Laguna, Olivarez College, Emilio Aguinaldo College-Cavite, and Philippine Marine Merchant School.