IT’S barely the third game day of Season 80 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) as I’m writing this. But the fireworks display has already begun.
Kicking off its milestone 80th year with a grand Opening Ceremony on September 9, host school Far Eastern University (FEU) set the tone for what to expect all season long. Go For Great, the visual extravaganza, dazzled like no other. A riotous display of colors and animated dance numbers got the heart pumping, as school colors flashed, waved, bobbed and somersaulted in a presentation of the various UAAP sports. A play of lights on the floor captured each school’s personality, as the all too familiar drums, sounds and UAAP energy took over the Mall of Asia Arena.
Then they came in. A slew of Greats from each school marched into the hard court like an army of knights after a successful campaign, wowing the crowd with the rich history and amazing legacy of the league. Various outstanding athletes of various sports reminded the audience of championships waged and won locally and in the international scene. Seeing them there all together—in a reunion of generations—was a goose bump moment. Past, present and future merged on a golden afternoon.
You might have seen them on TV, or maybe you haven’t. So let me just give you a sampling of the Greats who showed up on UAAP Opening Day. For Adamson University, women’s basketball’s Ewon Arayi and Philippine Basketball Association great Hector Calma; Ateneo de Manila’s illustrious swim team; Renren Ritualo and the parents of table-tennis phenom Yan Lariba for De La Salle University (DLSU); Danny Ildefonso, Bobby Ray Parks and lady baller Afril Bernardino of basketball plus Christine Patrimonio of tennis for National University (NU); the University of the East’s (UE) amazing fencing team led by Christian Jhester Concepcion; Coach Joe Lipa, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Ronnie Magsanoc and Andre Paras (representing his father, Benjie); track’s Rio de la Cruz; taekwondo’s Rannie Ann Ortega and football chief Nonong Araneta for the University of the Philippines (UP); Aric del Rosario and a host of accomplished athletes from the University of Santo Tomas (UST); and for the host school, a bevy of greats: multititled basketball Coach Arturo Valenzona and Danny Gavieres, players Johnny Abarrientos, Victor Pablo, Glenn Capacio, Terrence Romeo, RR Garcia, Roger Pogoy and Allana May Lim; and Marestela Torres of track, among others.
The legends enjoyed the exercise, even if some of them were no longer as sprightly as they once were. It felt very much like a reunion, they said. And they loved every moment of it. To parade before the crowd and hear the old screams, the hearty applause, that brought back a lot of sweet memories. Thank you, UAAP, they said almost as one. Thank you for remembering us and making us part of this moment. Indeed. The media, led by partner network ABS-CBN and the men and women of Print and Digital media, had a field day talking to the Greats, asking them about how they felt about their return to the UAAP and many other things. They couldn’t get enough of the illustrious assembly of UAAP sports greats of different eras and generations. It was a “selfie festival”, to say the least.
And then the games began. First to tangle were NU and the UE Red Warriors. From the get-go, the NU Bulldogs showed the grit and system that new coach Jamike Jarin infused into the team during the off-season. NU quickly dismantled the Warriors who showed sparks of brilliance and the willingness to duke it out with a stronger team, but could not contain the mighty Bulldogs who imposed their will on the game in the third quarter.
In the second game Ateneo showed it was still up for championship contention as the young Eagles, coached by a master of the game (Tab Baldwin) just rolled and stayed cohesive, thwarting the vaunted Falcons at every turn. By the way, before they came to play, the Falcons were “the team to watch” for every UAAP team after their powerful performance during the off season. But Ateneo would dominate from beginning to end.
Last Sunday just the second game day, UP and UST played a suspense thriller of a game with the advantage changing sides every quarter. It kept the crowd at the edge of their seats, down to the last five seconds. After a key play where UP’s Gelo Vito would have been the goat after a foul on UST’s Marvin Lee (who converted both shots), all eyes were on UP and what more it could do with just a gasp left in the game. Well, within that gasp, Paul Desiderio sank a gutsy three-pointer with just 1.1 seconds left on the clock. “Atin ‘to! Papasok ‘to” the former UV lancer said in the huddle, and made good his words. At that moment, Desiderio became officially crowned King Maroon.
The game everybody came to watch, however, was the DLSU-FEU encounter. It was their first meeting after their tumultuous encounter in Davao that resulted in ejections, fisticuffs and bigtime trouble. Would the hostility be rekindled? Would the two teams live out their grudges? That’s what the audience wanted to know.
Maybe, if the game were a close one, the same fire would have turned the game into a conflagration. But the Green Archers took the rampage out of the Tamaraws early in the game and that sort of cooled things down. The Tams showed the stuff that they were made of though by managing to creep back from a 20-plus deficit. But it was the Archers’ day all day as Aljun Melecio and Kib Montalbo doused the fire with providential steals and three-pointers.
And that in a nutshell is how Season 80 of the UAAP said hello. Expect more surprises and epic battles as you get to know it better.