Roughly two years since Season 83 was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) is set to stage its 84th season beginning Mar. 26.
The league’s first-ever bubble season will see the return of UAAP tournaments for cheerdance, chess, poomsae, 3×3 basketball, men’s beach volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s volleyball.
In a media briefing on Friday, UAAP President Emmanuel Calanog revealed details on the league’s resumption, tournament schedules and health protocols.
League format
The men’s basketball tournament, UAAP’s season-opening event, will be played every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
All eight teams will feature in each game day across four start times—10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Like in previous seasons, a double round-robin will unfold for the elimination round, with the traditional final four format and a best-of-three finals series to follow.
After the scheduled conclusion of men’s basketball on May 12, the women’s volleyball tournament will open. Absent COVID-related interruptions, the remainder of the season’s events will subsequently commence.
The official venue for UAAP Season 84 games is yet to be named. Among the league’s options are the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan and Ynares Sports Center in Pasig.
Pursuant to the Inter-Agency Task Force’s (IATF) guidelines, the first round of the men’s basketball tournament will be played behind closed doors, which means only student-athletes, coaching staff and authorized personnel can enter the league bubble.
Calanog acknowledged the possibility of welcoming fans and media back to the live games as soon as possible.
“At the very least for the first round, we’ll maintain a strict bubble. If by the end of the first round, things start to go well, we may start to bring in a limited number of spectators and media partners,” Calanog said.
Games for Season 84 can be viewed on One Sports, Cignal Play, Smart Giga Play and the newly-launched UAAP Varsity Channel.
New guidelines
UAAP Executive Director Rebo Saguisag said all players must be fully vaccinated with “two initial doses” of the anti-COVID jab before entering the league bubble.
All participants must undergo antigen testing before each game. The league will conduct mandatory RT-PCR testing will be conducted every two weeks. But details on testing costs were not disclosed.
Saguisag adds that contingency measures will be in place if an individual inside the UAAP bubble tests positive for COVID.
If more than two players per team test positive, their scheduled game will only continue if both teams have enough players available to compete. The UAAP did not disclose the minimum number of players per team.
“Magkakaroon tayo ng threshold [for COVID cases]. As long as it satisfies the number of players in the team, [the games will continue]. One player, two players testing positive, okay pa ‘yon,” Saguisag said.
To curb the risk of virus transmission, playing teams are only allowed to travel from their dormitories to the game venues in a closed-circuit format.
Student-athletes, coaches and staff are also prohibited from going home to their residences outside the bubble throughout the season.
The league’s commercial partners will provide ‘fast’ Internet connection for those who will be attending online classes in the bubble, Smart Sports Head Jude Turcato said. Calanog confirmed that the UAAP has received the 5G routers to be used by student-athletes.
The league added that its bubble setup will stand for the entirety of the season, regardless of Metro Manila’s alert level status.
The playing age cap for UAAP has been raised to 27 years old from its previous limit of 25. Student-athletes below the age requirement before May 31, 2022 are still eligible to compete for Season 84.
Despite having only nine out of 28 events in a usual year, UAAP will still award a general champion out of all the competing schools. A pre-taped opening ceremony will air on Mar. 26 to formally launch the season.
