One Game At A Time
Let the ‘whole’ UAAP season begin
The UAAP opens tomorrow in Marikina with an encompassing opening rite that focuses not only on basketball but on all sports of the league.
This is good for athletes of all disciplines as they get to truly usher in the full season and not become just afterthoughts once the traditional opening of the basketball tournament is done.There are logistical risks and problems no doubt, but having the entire UAAP field together in one curtain-raiser is a good idea.
The older folk and most likely, the broadcast teams, are concerned about rain but the young people who will dance and march on the field will not mind it so much if the rain is just a gentle shower.
Let’s just hope that no fickle tropical depression is lurking somewhere in the UAAP area of responsibility on that day.
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It will be interesting to look at the entire UST delegation and get a sense of how they have consistently won the general championship through the years. They participate in practically all sports and manage to attract excellent talent.
Other contingents will be smaller most likely, reflecting not exactly the enrollment figures of the schools but the availability of athletes for as many sports as possible.
However, the basketball tournament will still be the cynosure event as the sport is still the most uncomplicated to watch and the one that allows student barkadas to go absolutely nuts while cheering for their alma maters.
Football and volleyball may allow that to happen but nothing is as noisy and as vibrant as a UAAP game with all the youthful shrieks and endless pounding of drums.
This seems to be the secret of the UAAP basketball charm as the cheering and the noise are nonstop. Even turnovers and missed layups concoct a frenzied sensation that titillates the crowd.
Being a game of young people, the college basketball tournament is marked by overeager plays and miscalculations. The coaches lose sleep over them and are forced to teach repeatedly on how to play the game correctly.
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Ateneo’s four-peat bid in basketball will be the main story but the challenge posed by Far Eastern University, University of the East, Adamson and La Salle will be worth following as well.
National University, now bolstered by Bobby Ray Parks, will also grab some of the limelight given that the Bulldogs had a good preseason as well.
The UAAP ambience is a different platform, though, with huge crowds and the media pressure distracting players from different directions.
The team that manages to play superior basketball while keeping the distractions to a minimum has the best chance of winning this year’s crown.
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