UAAP reopens this March after its 2-year hiatus

Following the Season 83 cancellation and discontinuation of Season 82, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines or UAAP finally reopens for its 84th season on March 26 at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City with the theme of “Fully Alive, Champions for Life”.

UAAP is a national athletic association that holds annual sports events and showcases the talent and sportsmanship of its eight schools – the prestigious universities in Metro Manila.

The eight member schools of UAAP are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU), National University (NU), University of the East (UE), University of the Philippines Diliman (UP), and University of Santo Tomas (UST).

Season 84 will be held on a rigid bubble setup hosted by De La Salle University (DLSU), Moreover, all participants are required to be fully vaccinated and will tentatively not admit a live audience, at least on the first game, to protect the student-athletes against COVID-19.

UAAP President Emmanuel Calanog said, “If by the end of the first round, things start to go well, we may start to bring in a limited number of spectators and media partners by the start of the second round.” 

These renowned universities fiercely compete to bag the championship title on its 28 events from 15 sports, but this league will be different and unordinary. There are only nine approved events in this league that will commence: men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, cheerdance, men’s and women’s 3×3 basketball, men’s beach volleyball, poomsae, and men’s and women’s chess.

“[As] much as we wanted to have all the sports played, the current situation made the Board decide to only have the covered sports together with some sports that met our criteria,” Calanog said.

The basketball season will be the first on the run with its 5×5 basketball as the first game this March 26, while the other sports will launch after the basketball season.

“The UAAP is in solidarity with the government in ensuring the safety of all its athletes and stakeholders during these challenging times as we look forward to the reopening of all its sporting events,” UAAP Executive Director Rebo Saguisag quipped.

For this year, “the idea of the season is trying to get it back to the new normal,” Calanog added, “and try to figure out what we can bring back for Season 84, and perhaps the grind will be back by Season 85.” 

LAYOUT BY: Casey R. Aguilos

PHOTO SOURCE(S): Jeremy Lim and UAAP