BLACKOUT | Ateneo, La Salle tell fans to wear black for rivalry game

Do expect the seats of the Mall of Asia Arena to be filled with black-clad fans. (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Both Ateneo and La Salle urged their fans who will watch their men's basketball teams' match on Sunday to come to the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay in black as part of both schools' advocacy against human rights violation.

Ateneo first issued a "solidarity memo" to its community on Friday.

The said memo also mentioned that La Salle would do the same, something the latter's official school paper, The LaSallian, confirmed later Friday through Twitter.

JUST IN: The University invites attendees of the DLSU-ADMU UAAP basketball match on Sunday, October 2, to wear black to show solidarity.

— The LaSallian (@TheLaSallian) September 30, 2016

The said "black shirt protest" is both schools' means of their continuous opposition to Former President Ferdinand Marcos' proposed Libingan ng mga Bayani burial and the growing number of extrajudicial killings.

The last time both schools urged their fans to wear one color of outfit was in 2009, when the fans trooped to the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City in yellow as part of both schools' tribute to Former President Cory Aquino, who died a few days before their game.

La Salle will stake its unbeaten record against Ateneo but will likely be without Coach Aldin Ayo, who was initially meted a one-game suspension following his ejection against UE on Wednesday at the said venue.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno