UAAP breaks tradition, unwraps Olympic-style

MANILA, Philippines - New season, new approach. As the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) kicks off its 74th season today, the opener presents an entirely different look – no basketball games that have marked the league’s explosive starts in years but with a daring Olympic-style ceremony.

Not at the Araneta Coliseum but at the Marikina Sports Complex.

Sure, focus will still be on the cage hostilities that start the day after at the Big Dome as well as in seven other sports calendared in the first-semester program of the league.

Ateneo, seeking to become only the third team in the Final Four era (beginning 1993) to win four straight crowns, opens defense of its title against Adamson University at 3 p.m. on Sunday, eager to strut its stuff behind a combination of veterans and blue-chip rookies in Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena.

In another equally exciting contest, it will be La Salle, which won four straight under the Final Four format starting 1998, against Far Eastern University (FEU) at 1 p.m.

Women’s basketball begins July 13 at the Blue Eagle gym with a heavy four-game schedule–rising power National University (NU) against Ateneo at 9 a.m.

University of the Philippines (UP) against University of the East (UE) at 11 a.m., University of Santo Tomas (UST) against defending champion Adamson University at 1 p.m. and De La Salle against FEU at 3 p.m.

In boys’ basketball action that begins July 12 also at the Blue Eagle gym, it will be UP Integrated School against Adamson at 9 a.m., UST against NU at 11 a.m., UE against FEU at 1 p.m. and “four-peat” seeking Ateneo against archrival De La Salle at 3 p.m.

UST is again at center-stage as it shoots for its 39th general championship in the seniors division and 13th in the juniors category as action in seven – of the 15 – other sports highlights the league’s first-semester competitions – including the cheerdance competition that is again expected to pack the Araneta Coliseum to the rafters on Sept. 25.

Badminton, according to sport host NU, reels off Aug. 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 20, 21, 24, 27 and 28 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall, while beach volleyball hosted by UE at sand courts in its Caloocan Campus gets going Aug. 27, 28 and 31 and Sept. 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 17 and 18.

Table Tennis, also hosted by NU, will have two tentative venues – PhilSports Arena in Pasig City on Sept. 24 and 25 and Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 1 and 2.

FEU will host taekwondo competitions on Sept. 13 and 17 at The Arena in San Juan, and after the cheerdance contest UP will host swimming tentatively at the Riza Memorial Pool from Sept. 22 to 25. Judo will be hosted, also tentatively, on Oct. 1 and 2 also at The Arena.

Winners in these seven sports in the previous season were UST (men) and FEU (women) in badminton, FEU (men) and Adamson (women) in beach volleyball, UST (men) and FEU (women) in table tennis, De La Salle (men) and UST (women) in taekwondo, UP in both men’s and women’s divisions in swimming and Ateneo (men) and UST (women) in judo. UP is the reigning titlist in cheerdance.

Scheduled for the second semester are volleyball, chess, athletics, football, fencing, tennis, baseball and softball.