IT looks like it's finally time for the UAAP to venture into primetime on the regular.
Pending final approval by the league's board, men's basketball games will now be a fixture on evenings, capping off game days that will also see two morning matches and three afternoon contests.
Two games in UAAP junior high school basketball will start off every game day, followed by a couple of tiffs in women's basketball then another pair of duels in men's basketball.
Game days will remain to be Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with Cignal still the broadcast partner.
This means that for the first time, the league will be permanently slated in early primetime after years of already owning the 2 and 4 p.m. slots, in terms of sports.
In recent years, the UAAP has already scheduled big games such as the finals or meetings between any of Ateneo, La Salle, and the University of the Philippines at 6 p.m. Season 86 also saw quadruple-headers on Wednesdays, with the last match tipping off at 6 p.m.
Once the development - which, as per sources, has excited both the league and its broadcast partner - is greenlit, however, all eight member-schools will have a chance to be featured on primetime more frequently.
All together now, Philippine sports
Season 87 tips off on September 7 at the Araneta Coliseum, with La Salle defending its men's crown, University of Santo Tomas protecting its just-reclaimed women's throne, and National University-Nazareth School putting at stake its junior high school title.
According to sources, the UAAP included its under-16 tournament in its game days to maximize use of its venues - in particular, the Big Dome and the Mall of Asia Arena.
The six-match game days come on the heels of the PBA announcing that the earlygoing of its Season 49 Governors' Cup will be played every day except Mondays.
READ: PBA overload as games played six days a week early in Govs' Cup
The 2024 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference is ongoing as well, which will soon be followed by the Invitational Conference. At the same time, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is well underway.
The NCAA will also celebrate its historic Season 100 starting early September, and the oldest collegiate league was already working on a schedule with only Tuesdays and Thursdays as off days.
Add to that games for Gilas Pilipinas, Alas Pilipinas, and national football teams, among others, and Philippine sports' end of 2024 seems to be the most loaded in recent memory.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
