UAAP Season 76 goes into full throttle

Greatness goes into full throttle in the 76th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) as host Adamson University leads the charge under the theme “Greatness never ends”.

This season, De La Salle University enters as the UAAP General Champions (GC) for the first time since they entered the league 27 years ago in 1986. The Green and White are now set to defend their title from the top GC contenders, led by the former 14-peat GC holder University of Santo Tomas, as well as Ateneo De Manila University, last year’s second runner-up.

Last year, the Lady Jins, Lady Paddlers, Lady Spikers, Lady Tennisters and the Lady Woodpushers all won gold medals to lead La Salle’s bid for the GC, and look to duplicate their feat this season. The five teams that finished in second place and the 11 that ranked third last season are also looking to make a push towards the top of the podium in DLSU’s rally to defend the GC.

The league’s surprises

De La Salle University’s UAAP board chair, Edwin Reyes, shares what to expect from the league this season and the challenges that come with defending the throne from the seven other contending universities.

First on the list is not quite surprising already, as fans and supporters of the martial arts eagerly await the latest addition to the list of the official UAAP sports. The newest event, Pumsae, also known as Form, makes its debut this season as it is introduced to the eight participating schools in the league. Despite the newest addition to the UAAP events, Reyes shares his concern about the event being difficult for the other teams to contend in due to restrictions in their resources.

On the other hand, volleyball fans are in for a major treat as the Men’s Volleyball tournament will now be aired live on television every Saturday, slotted before the Women’s festivities take place once the season begins in December.

The controversial new two-year UAAP rule also takes effect this season. It requires players transferring from one UAAP school to another to serve two years of residency before playing. Despite the criticism that it has received both in online fora and in the newspapers, the UAAP board pushed for the application of the rule together with explanatory clauses to address the issues regarding its execution.

Green is in

The upcoming season will be a year of firsts as well as the University will also host the chess competition for the first time since its joining the league. Reyes added that the hosting of the chess tournament this year is something that Lasallians can be proud of due to the thorough preparations the University conducts whenever tasked with a UAAP event.

With all the hype and intensity building up for the 76th season of the UAAP, Reyes concludes his statements with hope in mind. He shares, “Basically we all hope to be in that finals game for the men’s basketball. We’re thirsting for a championship, or for at least an appearance in it, while the rest is what we intend to do: that’s to retain that overall general championship. So that’s [our goal] as far as our performance is concerned.”