MANILA, Philippines - Action in the UAAP Season 73 second semester goes full blast next weekend with three sports commencing hostilities and three others entering their crucial stages.
Tennis hits the ground on Jan. 8 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center with defending champion La Salle Lady Archers and Season 72 runner-up Santo Tomas Tigresses jumpstarting their bids against University of the Philippines and Ateneo, respectively.
Chess showdowns open on the same day at the Far Eastern University Auditorium, where the host Tamaraws and Lady Tamaraws stake their twin crowns for the next seven weekends.
Football kicks off on Jan. 16 at the Erenchum field on the Ateneo campus with the FEU Tams tackling the UP Fighting Maroons to begin their title defense.
Season 72 second-placers UST Tigresses jumpstart the action in the women’s side, battling host Ateneo over at the Ocampo pitch.
Competitions in volleyball and softball also heat up on Jan. 8 in different venues.
Four-peat-seeking UST and FEU, both unblemised in five outings, look to sustain their charge at the resumption of the men’s wars against National U and Adamson, respectively, at The Arena. Women’s titlist Tigresses and rampaging Lady Archers likewise try to stay clean and go 6-0 against NU and University of the East, respectively.
The softball teams, led by unbeaten Adamson Lady Falcons, start their respective second round campaigns on the same date at the Rosario Field.
It will be the turn of the baseball squads headed by spotless UST Tigers to take the diamond of the Rizal Memorial the next day for their second phase of competition.