MANILA -- Defending UAAP champion Ateneo and reigning NCAA titlist Letran will lead the way when the 2023 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup opens on May 6.

Games will be held at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. Teams are expected to ramp up their preparations for their respective mother leagues in the FilOil tilt.

National University reigned supreme in the 2022 edition with John Lloyd Clemente earning the Most Valuable Player award.

This will also serve as an early workout for teams which welcomed new coaches, among them Topex Robinson for La Salle, Denok Miranda for Far Eastern University, Chico Manabat for Arellano, John Kallos for San Sebastian, and Jerson Cabiltes for Emilio Aguinaldo College.

There will be a coaches' meeting set for next week to finalize the tournament format and the participating squads.

League chairman Rey Gamboa, commissioners Joe Lipa and Bert dela Rosa, tournament director Bennett Palad, media head and consultant Virgil Villavicencio, and marketing and finance head Diana Layug will oversee the 16th edition of the Filoil tourney.