Fans can expect a higher level of sportsmanship and excellence from athletes and coaches from one of the country’s most prestigious collegiate leagues this year.
Just 103 days since the closure of Season 81, the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) opened Season 82 with an opening ceremony – which also serves as a send-off for the league’s athletes – Sunday afternoon at the SM Mall of Asia Area in Pasay City.
The event opened with the Ateneo Glee Club’s moving renditions of Prayer for Generosity and the Lupang Hinirang. It then featured top local bands such as Sponge Cola, Itchyworms, Autotelic, December Avenue, and IV Of Spades. It also saw performances from the Company of Ateneo Dancers and the Blue Babble Battalion.
“We’re always asked – challenged – to do the greater thing,” said Ateneo president Fr. Jett Villarin, SJ, who additionally explained that the trophies this year are made from materials given by partner communities from Taal, Batangas and Marawi City.
Athletes who have played for and will represent the country in different international tournaments were recognized just before the Oath of Sportsmanship, which was read by Ateneo fencing sensation and World Cup bronze medalist Maxine Esteban.
“We as a country, we are hosting the 2019 South East Asian Games, so it is another occasion for us to come together as Filipinos. And I hope that is something that is also a greater thing to do beyond our teams, beyond our schools,” added Villarin.
Aside from Villarin, the other members of the Board of Trustees who attended the ceremony were De La Salle University’s Br. Rey Suplido; University of the East’s Dr. Ester Garcia; Far Eastern University’s Dr. Michael Alba; National University’s Dr. Renato Carlos Ermita, Jr.; University of Santo Tomas Rector Fr. Herminio Dagohoy; University of the Philippines’ Dr. Michael Tan; and Adamson University’s Fr. Marcelo V Manimtim.
The UAAP games are set to tip-off with Men’s and Women’s basketball games on September 4, 2019 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and the UST’s Quadricentennial Pavillion in Manila.
