Uaap Season 67 Begins July 10, Who will win this year's basketball ! Options

[Ek-ek]

De La Salle brings to the fore an endeavor focused on brotherhood and the youth as the Green Archers host Season 67 of the country's most prestigious collegiate league-the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

Season 67 opens July 10 at the Araneta Coliseum with the host Archers adopting the theme "Animo UAAP: Shooting For The Stars."

"We upped the brotherhood story by considering each university's teamwork as one big animo," said Daniel Jose, De La Salle's representative to the UAAP who formally took over the presidency from Ateneo's Jose Capistrano Jr. during the league board meeting last Tuesday at the Club Filipino in Greenhills.

"And the season also speaks for the youth (as to the 'Shooting For The Stars'), the future, thus tomorrow, while giving tribute to the UAAP's heritage and the foundation it has laid in producing some of the best professional sportsmen (in the country)," he added.

Four basketball matches open Season 67 on July 10 with Far Eastern University, the defending men's champion which is again the favorite, testing the mettle of the Dindo Pumaren-coached University of the East crew in the main match at 4 p.m.

After the opening ceremonies at 1 o'clock, University of the Philippines and Adamson University take to the floor at 2. The day will be capped by a juniors match between University of Santo Tomas and UE.

The next day, the Green Archers take on archrival Ateneo Blue Eagles in a 4 p.m. match also at the Big Dome.

Basketball games will be played alternately at the Araneta Coliseum and the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

A modification in basketball this season, according to Jose, is the adoption of the "14 players to a team and 14 to play" rule, which replaced the usual "16 players to a team and 12 to play" format.

There are 14 sports which the UAAP calendars each season- athletics (track and field), badminton, baseball, basketball, chess, fencing, football, judo, tennis, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo and volleyball.

Under these sports, there are 26 events in the seniors' category and nine in the juniors' division.

UST remains the team to beat for the general championship although De La Salle continues to be a strong contender for the league's biggest trophy. The Green Archers finished a strong second last season.

(IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) See related site:

http://www.uaapgames.com/home.php

[poknat]

(IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) There is the article about FEU:
Tamaraws herd up for UAAP 67
July 02 , 2004

Green and gold are the colors associated with success in the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines.

Nevertheless, they would usually pertain to different schools. Far Eastern University, however, would like to differ and claim that both hues could also be mixed into one. The FEU Tamaraws, one of the usual powerhouses in the UAAP, is primed up and ready to face new battles in the 2004 season.

Finishing in the middle of the pack in the UAAP General Championship a year back, the Tamaraws are the defending UAAP men's basketball champions, and unknown to many, are also first in the UAAP men's badminton competition.

The Tams, which comprise the core of Philippine Basketball League Unity Cup champions Viva-FEU, would try to bring their pre-season success to the Big Dance and ride on the momentum of their good showing during the summer.

Led by PBL MVP Arwind Santos, FEU men's basketball coach Enrico "Koy" Banal and his wards would try to repeat as UAAP cage champs this time around.

FEU Athletic Coordinator Florentino Santos is hoping that this year they finish as high as third overall with every team finishing in the top four.

What is holding them back in reaching their goals is that they do not get to field in all the sports.

"Kulang kami sa events," Santos stated. As of this season, they do not have teams in swimming, baseball, softball, lawn tennis, and judo.

According to Santos, they plan to fix the problem by having squads in the events they do not have representation yet by the following year.

What is keeping them from forming new teams, besides the expenses, is that they don't have the facilities and equipment where the athletes could train. "Wala pa kaming field para sa baseball at softball, at wala din kaming swimming pool," emphasized Santos, some things that bigger schools could offer.

The Tams were second in women's volleyball, women's table tennis, and men's fencing last year. On the other hand, they were third in athletics, men's volleyball, and men's football.

They may not pack the coliseum like other schools do, but the Tamaraw spirit is alive in every FEU student and alumni that goes to the games.

[Ek-ek]

Well, FEU is this year's top favorite along with Ateneo and La Salle.