MANILA, Philippines–Collegiate basketball’s fabled rivalry of Ateneo and La Salle take center stage in the first week of the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament which gets going September 4.
The defending champions Blue Eagles open their three-peat bid with two games on opening week, including a showdown with their archnemesis Green Archers on September 8 at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The league released the official first-round schedule of the men’s and women’s games on Thursday.
University of Santo Tomas and University of the East meanwhile, officially kick off the basketball hostilities on opening day while Season 81 semifinalists Far Eastern U and University of the Philippines slug it out in the second game.
Ateneo and last year’s dark horse Adamson take the top billing of opening day, which will unfold on a Wednesday, a move from a years-long trend of ushering in the new UAAP season on a weekend.
Most men’s basketball games are scheduled at Araneta Coliseum and at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. Four playdates, however, are slated at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Meanwhile, Wednesday contests feature triple headers, in a bid to speed up the schedule for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games set in December.