INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - Expect even bigger crowds of blue and green this season.

Responding to high ticket demands, the UAAP has decided to issue tickets solely for the blockbuster match between fierce rivals Ateneo and La Salle in the first round of the UAAP men’s basketball competition this year.

“More people from Ateneo and La Salle will get tickets,” tournament director Mark Molina told the Inquirer Friday. “Instead of just getting one-fourth [of the ticket allocation], both Ateneo and La Salle will get one-half.”

The league has been equally allocating the game tickets among the four competing schools on each playdate.

Ateneo swept La Salle in the championship showdown last year in front of an overflow crowd estimated to be at least 22,000.

The rematch between the Blue Eagles and the Green Archers is set on Aug. 9 at 1 p.m. at the Big Dome in Cubao. Another set of tickets will be sold for the match between University of the East and Far Eastern University on the same day at 5 p.m.

“We feel that Ateneo and La Salle will be a sellout on its own and UE-FEU will also be a sellout on its own,” said Molina. “The reason for the two-hour gap [between games] is for Araneta to clear the venue.”

Host Far Eastern came up with the suggestion after the league board recently rejected the original proposal for a single playdate between the perennial adversaries.

“This is experimental,” said Molina. “Araneta said they can do it. We’ll be meeting on it next week. If this works, we’ll use the same schedule in the Final Four.”

Ateneo will kick off its title defense against pre-season favorite Far Eastern on July 12 at 4 p.m. at Araneta, right after the 2 p.m. match between the University of the Philippines and National University.

The July 11 opening day at the Big Dome will pit University of Santo Tomas against Adamson at 2 p.m., followed by La Salle versus University of the East at 4.