Dave Ildefonso

The UAAP is back!

Leave a comment

Beat writers for the NBA often say that the once 10-month long season has now become an all-year-round league. More than just the games, the players, coaches and everything in between are getting more coverage now than they’ve ever gotten before.

Thanks in equal part to social media and the interest from fans, basketball is legitimately becoming a way of life.

Whatever happens on the biggest basketball stage slowly trickles down to all the other leagues in the world. Case in point is the UAAP. Decades before the only people who tuned in to the UAAP were students, faculty and alumni of participating schools. But with household names such as Kiefer Ravena, Alyssa Valdez and even more contemporary heroes in Ricci Rivero and Thirdy Ravena playing in the UAAP, fans outside of the participating institutions have become more invested.

UAAP opening

Season 81-host National University definitely pulled all the strings with NBA MVP Stephen Curry leading the Oath of Sportsmanship. (Photo: https://upd.edu.ph/uaap-season-81-finally-begins/)

The UAAP is definitely back and with a bang! This year’s opening festivities has probably been the grandest its ever been. With SM Group-owned National University hosting Season 81, the Bulldogs made sure to pull out all the surprises. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors led the Oath of Sportsmanship for the athletes. On the entertainment side of things, James Reid and K-Pop idol Minzy dazzled the crowd before the main event rolled out. I can’t remember a UAAP opening that could pass off as an NBA superstar meet-and-greet event/local celebrity concert/K-Pop show. SM really flaunting that money.

But more than the off-court festivities, I was greatly impressed with the show the boys put out on the floor. I’ve missed the familiar faces. Thirdy’s been dunking all over the place again while Juan GDL’s proving the “sophomore slump” still hasn’t gotten to him (at least on the first two games of the season). Rookies such as Dave Ildefonso are making a splash in just their freshman seasons.

The UAAP is stacked but most importantly it’s back!