THE bellowing cheers, rivalries, school colors, and jampacked venues returned to the scene as the premier varsity league in the country marked another year Saturday.
The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) kicked off its 73rd season in a colorful, hippy opening rites at the Araneta Coliseum with host De La Salle University (DLSU) dishing out a menu of performances to welcome the season.
DLSU will be hosting the UAAP for the third time since it left the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to join the league in 1986.
UAAP president Bro. Bernard Oca opened the season amid thunderous applause from thousands of fans who eagerly awaited the return of the country’s most popular league.
But even before La Salle welcomed the UAAP community, performances from Ogie Alcasid and Gary Valenciano dotted the 1 p.m. opening rites.
Alcasid, who finished his high school at the Taft-based university, led the invocation as well as in singing “Bagong Pilipinas”, which was the main piece used in the inauguration of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in June 30.
Valenciano, on the other hand, was joined by a hundred crew in dancing his popular hit “Hataw Na”, to the delight of fans.
The De La Salle Network Schools’ Chorale, La Sallian Youth Orchestra, the La Salle Animo Squad also performed during the ceremony.
Anchoring on the theme “Where Heroes are Made”, the UAAP board said it wanted to inculcate the spirit of heroism among the young set.
“We have heroes in our schools and these are our student athletes. They are symbols or icons of heroism. We would like to emphasize that we can be heroes through dedication, hard work, discipline, honesty, integrity, etc,” said Oca.
To embody the hero spirit, UAAP paraded some of its chosen “heroes” coming from eight member-schools, namely: Adamson University, Ateneo de Manila University, De la Salle University, University of the Philippines, National University, Far Eastern University, University of the East, and University of Santo Tomas.
Actor and La Salle’s prized tanker Ernest Lorenzo “Enchong” Dee led the cast of varsity heroes, alongside soccer player Jacobo Lorenzo of Ateneo , Justin Deans of Adamson, Gerald Diokno of UE, taekwondo jin Jade Zafra of UST, and Klaudine Legaspi of UP, among others.
The team captains, led by King Archer Simon Atkins, took the oath of sportsmanship.
In an interview with Sun.Star, Valenciano said he was more than glad to perform for the UAAP and to his alma mater.
“I am really proud to do this for my school and for the league as well. There are barriers that have come down in the past few years, say the rivalries for example. When Bro. Bernie contacted me to perform, I really tried my best to squeeze this in and thank God it was ok,” he said.
Aside from Valenciano, the opening was also graced by UP alumnus and Vice President Jejomar Binay, Philippine Olympic Committee spokesman Joey Romasanta, Education Secretary Armin Luistro, former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Harry Angping, ABS-CBN head for Sports Peter Musngi, league and school officials, among others.
Meantime, the security around Araneta Coliseum was tight as it inspected the bags of fans for banned items like digital cameras and food. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)