Matches between last season’s losing finalist Ateneo and fourth-placer National University (NU) in the main game at 4 p.m. and fifth-placer University of the East and second-to-the-last finisher University of the Philppines in the opener at 1 kick off hostilities in a season many feel would go down the wire.
"This will be a very heavy season for (men’s) basketball that is why we are spending so much time and effort on officiating," said Sonny Paguia of general host. Paguia is the UAAP’s 2002 president.
The UAAP board, according to Paguia, has picked Joe Lipa as commissioner and has contracted the Basketball Association of the Philippines to guarantee that officiating by referees from the Basketball Referees Commission would go hitch-free the entire season.
"For the past three weeks or so, the Barecom referees are undergoing rigid seminars at the expense of the UAAP to upgrade officiating and eliminate mistakes of the past," said Paguia. "And we are very thankful the BAP and the Barecom are very responsive about it."
There are 40 referees in the Barecom pool. Paguia added, but only a handful will be picked in the end to officiate in the league where De La Salle University, which gets to play only on July 14 against last year’s third-placer Far Eastern University, is seeking a fourth straight crown.
The first two playing days, which will be covered live over ABS-CBN’s Studio 23, will be played at the Cubao Big Dome. The rest of the games–Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays–will be played at the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum.