FILE – UAAP Season 82 opening ceremony at Mall of Asia Arena. Photo from the UAAP
MANILA, Philippines — The shortened UAAP Season 82 will crown a general champion but no Athlete of the Year will be named, the league’s top officials said Tuesday.
The UAAP, which had to suspend its games starting February due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately decided to cancel its season altogether in April as the deadly virus and quarantine measures persisted.
The cancelation left several high school and college events either unplayed or unfinished.
“You have to remember that in the High School Division, sixteen of the eighteen championships were awarded. In the Collegiate Division, twenty-one championship out of the thirty-one were given,” said UAAP Season 82 president Em Fernandez during the PSA Forum.
The high school events scrapped were athletics and lawn tennis. Volleyball, football, baseball, softball, athletics, lawn tennis, and 3×3 basketball were the events affected at the collegiate level.
“Compared to the General Championship that has 16 of the 18 [in high school] and 21 of the 31 [in college] were played, that’s more than two-thirds. But the effect was different as to Athlete of the Year. Every school was able to participate with the overall championship,” executive director Atty. Rebo Saguisag said.
“To award the Athlete of the Year, there were athletes who weren’t able to compete. That is the wisdom why they decided to have an overall champion but not an Athlete of the Year,” Saguisag added.
University of Santo Tomas is set to be named as overall champions in both divisions for the fourth consecutive year.
Last season, UST volleyball superstar Cherry Rondina was named Athlete of the Year.