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| UP, which made waves in the preseason by winning the inaugural FBA championship,will tip off its UAAP campaign against UE on opening day. From FBA's Facebook page. |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--For the second straight season, the UAAP season will open with the "Red Derby".
This season's host school UP will once again begin its men's basketball campaign right on opening day against last season's host UE on Sept. 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The league's official broadcaster ABSCBN revealed on its sports website on Monday that the UAAP will start with the UP-UE game for the second straight year.
The 2 p.m. match-up will see both the Fighting Maroons and the Red Warriors entering a new chapter in their respective UAAP stay.
Rensy Bajar will officially start his tenure as the new UP coach replacing Rey Madrid while parading a coaching staff highlighted by former PBA import and well-known conditioning coach Joe Ward and former King Maroon Poch Juinio.
UE, on the other hand, will begin life without Roi Sumang, who forewent his final year and declared for the PBA Draft, and African players Charles Mammie and Moustapha Arafat, who will not see action this year for various reasons.
The nightcap of the opening day festivities will feature UST and Adamson slugging it out at 4 p.m.
Action will then shift to the Mall of Asia Arena on Sept. 6 as NU will begin its bid for a second consecutive UAAP title against La Salle at 2 p.m. and last year's runner-up FEU will take on Ateneo at 4 p.m.
The complete first round schedule will be unveiled in a future date.
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