Nine out of ten (90 percent) of Lasallians are aware of the UAAP General Championship (GC). De La Salle University (DLSU) currently sits at the top of the yearlong tournament after the end of the first semester games.
Following the DLSU athletes are their counterparts from the University of Santo Tomas (UST). The España-based institution’s chance of winning a historic 15th consecutive overall title is still within touching distance as UST is only seven points behind DLSU’s 152-point haul.
Process of GC
“It composes all sports of the UAAP, and it is tallied at the end of the year to determine who will emerge as the best school in the UAAP,” said business alumnus Jan Carlo Gavile.
There are eight participating universities in the league; corresponding points are awarded to each school after each event ends. “Point systems are as follows: 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 [From places 1 to 8],” Gavile furthered.
In this season’s basketball event, for example, the fourth-placed Green Archers tallied eight points while the Lady Archers, the runner-up to back-to-back champion FEU, claimed 12 points to add to DLSU’s General Championship campaign.
Apart from basketball, there are 14 other sports in the UAAP. Badminton, judo, taekwondo, table tennis, beach volleyball, and swimming events are held in the first semester. On the other hand, fencing, chess, volleyball, football, lawn tennis, athletics, softball and baseball events are held in the second semester.
A total of 13 out of 15 sports are open for men and women’s teams. Baseball is a male-exclusive event while softball is for female athletes only.
Eager for action
Aside from being aware of the General Championship, 86 percent of the respondents are also interested to flock to the venues and are ready to support La Salle teams in the UAAP’s second semester events.
Around 72 percent of them are relishing the chance to see the Lady Spikers accomplish a three-peat together with the Green Spikers. The latter wants to do better than its semifinal stint last season.
The volleyball games are usually held at the Arena in San Juan. But for this season, some volleyball games, including the playoffs, will be played at the Mall of Asia (MoA) Arena, which may attract more DLSU students due to MoA Arena’s proximity to Taft Avenue.
In addition, 43 percent are willing to cheer for the Green and Lady Booters. Both teams stand a good chance to enter the finals and win the championship. The matches are staged at the Ateneo de Manila High School football field.
Athletics, Baseball and Lawn Tennis are also amongst Lasallians favorites with 23, 19 and 17 percent interest rates, respectively.
Athletics are held at the Philsports Complex in Pasig while Baseball and Lawn Tennis events are played at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, which is just a street away from La Salle.
The Green Tennisters defended the team’s championship while the Lady Tennisters finished second place last year.
Also, the Green Batters and the Green and Lady Tracksters have improved drastically as both went unnoticed to the top half of the pack last season.
The rise and dominance of both the Fencers and the Woodpushers are also what 18 percent of Lasallians are looking forward to, while nine percent of the student body wants to see the Lady Batters’ potential surge to the top.
These sports are made accessible to the public by having a low or zero fare on tickets that aim to encourage, especially UAAP-member schools students to watch the games.
High hopes for the Green-and-White
88 percent of Lasallians are optimistic that the second semester teams will preserve the lead, which will give DLSU its maiden General Championship title for the first time in 26 seasons.
Kevyn Aldrich Tan, a senior Engineering student and a sports enthusiast, is confident of DLSU’s chances. He furthered, “For the past years, DLSU has been finishing 2nd (only behind UST). And this season, we are in good shape of winning the General Championship because at the end of the 1st semester, we’re leading UST.”
An anonymous sophomore Liberal Arts student, meanwhile, agreed with Tan and said, “We are leading and we are going to have it.”
Finishing touch
Many Lasallians believe that the Green-and-White athletes will deliver the GC this time around. With the first semester events done and dusted, it is now time for the second semester sports teams to do their share of the job.
In a competition such as the UAAP, every point counts and every game matters. In an article published on The LaSallian, DLSU Vice Chancellor for LaSallian Missions and Alumni Relations Br. Bernie Oca FSC reminded the students, including the alumni, about the value of support each one can give to our athletes.
