MANILA -- An early showdown between rivals Ateneo and La Salle and a bunch of three-game cards highlighted the first round schedule of the 2019 UAAP men's basketball tournament.
In the release of the schedule on Thursday, the anticipated showdown between the defending champion Blue Eagles and the Green Archers will take place at 4 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, right after the 12 p.m. game between the UE Red Warriors and the FEU Tamaraws.
The La Salle-Ateneo tiff is the first game of the season for the Archers, featuring new head coach Jermaine Byrd.
The men's basketball season will begin on Sept. 4, with three games happening also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
University of Santo Tomas will take on UE in the first game of the season at 10:30 a.m., while FEU will battle University of the Philippines at 12:30 p.m.
The main game at 4 p.m. will feature Ateneo opening its title defense against Adamson.
The said opening day calendar is the first of four triple-headers that will take place on a Wednesday in a move to speed up the completion of the men's basketball tournament, to give way to the Philippine hosting of the Southeast Asian Games.
The NU Bulldogs will swing into action on Sept. 7, opening their campaign against the Soaring Falcons at 2 p.m., before the Fighting Maroons battle the Growling Tigers at 4 p.m. also at "The Big Dome".
The Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City will also get its dose of UAAP action on Sept. 14, when UE battles La Salle at 2 p.m. and Ateneo takes on FEU at 4 p.m.
After two more playdates at the MOA Arena, the Ynares Center in Antipolo will then host the UAAP games on Sept. 20, with the Red Warriors facing the Fighting Maroons at 2 p.m. and the Green Archers colliding with the Soaring Falcons at 4 p.m.
The finals rematch between defending champ Ateneo and UP will take place in the final day of the first round on Sept. 29 back at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at 4 p.m., right after the 2 p.m. game between NU and UE.
If the trend of Wednesday's triple-header will continue in the second round, the UAAP men's basketball season is expected to be finished by early November, just a couple of weeks before the start of the SEA Games. (PNA)
