Post by LJ on Jul 8, 2006 9:33:07 GMT -5
University of Santo Tomas is hardly a pre-tournament favorite in the centerpiece men's basketball but picked-for the umpteenth time-as the school to beat in the race for the general championship in 69th University Athletic Association of the Philippines.
Season 69 officially starts with the basketball tournament on July 8 at the Araneta Coliseum. The season host is University of the East, whose Red Warriors are heavily-favored to end two decades of frustration after a major build-up that produced titles in of three tune-up tournaments in the summer.
But in the race for the overall plum, UST's reputation precedes the Tigers, who in Season 68 ran away with the league's biggest trophy with 309 points. The Tigers won titles in nine of the 26 events last year and finished second in nine others.
Their closest pursuer could again be University of the Philippines, which took second place overall honors last season and UP topped three events with 241 points to beat De La Salle U by 14 points.
The order of finish in last season's race for the general championship outside of the top three was Far Eastern U (186 points), Ateneo (174 points), UE (170 points), Season 68 host Adamson U (86 points) and National U (11 points).
The UAAP awards 15 points to the champion of each event, 12 for the second place, 10 for third, eight for fourth, six for fifth, four for sixth, two for seventh and one for eighth.
The UAAP has 14 sports in its roster. Except for baseball, which only plays the men's division, and softball which only runs the women's contest, the rest-athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, fencing, football, judo, lawn tennis, swimming, table tennis, tae kwon do and volleyball-will have both men and women's divisions.
For this season, host UE, according to league secretary-treasurer Bren Perez, will be conducting beach volleyball as a demonstration sport. It will be played in August, while the indoor volleyball competitions were moved to the second semester to accommodate the women's matches that will be covered for television by the league's broadcast partner, Studio 23 of ABS-CBN.
If UST owns the enviable distinction as owner of numerous UAAP overall champion trophies, UE has the same reputation in the juniors division.
Behind Athlete of the Year Nelson Mariano III, UE won chess, table tennis and girls' swimming and swept the boys' and girls' volleyball to emerge overall juniors champion with 97 points.
UST was a fighting second in Season 68 though with 94 points, followed by La Salle-Zobel with 75, UP with 74 and Ateneo with 65.
The UAAP awards the same number of points in the juniors' category as it does in the seniors. The league's juniors sports are athletics, basketball, chess, swimming, table tennis, tae kwon do and volleyball.
Season 69 officially starts with the basketball tournament on July 8 at the Araneta Coliseum. The season host is University of the East, whose Red Warriors are heavily-favored to end two decades of frustration after a major build-up that produced titles in of three tune-up tournaments in the summer.
But in the race for the overall plum, UST's reputation precedes the Tigers, who in Season 68 ran away with the league's biggest trophy with 309 points. The Tigers won titles in nine of the 26 events last year and finished second in nine others.
Their closest pursuer could again be University of the Philippines, which took second place overall honors last season and UP topped three events with 241 points to beat De La Salle U by 14 points.
The order of finish in last season's race for the general championship outside of the top three was Far Eastern U (186 points), Ateneo (174 points), UE (170 points), Season 68 host Adamson U (86 points) and National U (11 points).
The UAAP awards 15 points to the champion of each event, 12 for the second place, 10 for third, eight for fourth, six for fifth, four for sixth, two for seventh and one for eighth.
The UAAP has 14 sports in its roster. Except for baseball, which only plays the men's division, and softball which only runs the women's contest, the rest-athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, fencing, football, judo, lawn tennis, swimming, table tennis, tae kwon do and volleyball-will have both men and women's divisions.
For this season, host UE, according to league secretary-treasurer Bren Perez, will be conducting beach volleyball as a demonstration sport. It will be played in August, while the indoor volleyball competitions were moved to the second semester to accommodate the women's matches that will be covered for television by the league's broadcast partner, Studio 23 of ABS-CBN.
If UST owns the enviable distinction as owner of numerous UAAP overall champion trophies, UE has the same reputation in the juniors division.
Behind Athlete of the Year Nelson Mariano III, UE won chess, table tennis and girls' swimming and swept the boys' and girls' volleyball to emerge overall juniors champion with 97 points.
UST was a fighting second in Season 68 though with 94 points, followed by La Salle-Zobel with 75, UP with 74 and Ateneo with 65.
The UAAP awards the same number of points in the juniors' category as it does in the seniors. The league's juniors sports are athletics, basketball, chess, swimming, table tennis, tae kwon do and volleyball.
