THE UAAP Esports tournaments for NBA 2K and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang return to action today (Tuesday) at the Quantum Skyview Deck, Gateway 2 Mall in Araneta City.
Highlighting the NBA 2K schedule is a finals rematch, as defending champion Ateneo de Manila University begins its title defense against De La Salle University at 2:30 p.m.
With a roster composed of graduating student-athletes, the Blue Eagles are determined to carry the momentum from their gold-medal finish last season.
“We are very dedicated and focused on going back-to-back in this tournament. Our goal is to repeat as champions, and I believe with this new team-style format, we’ll be very hard to beat,” said Paolo Medina, the former student-manager of the school’s men’s basketball team who delivered the title-clinching win for the Katipunan-based squad last August.
Joining Ateneo and La Salle in Group A are Far Eastern University and University of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Adamson University, National University, University of the East, and University of Santo Tomas are grouped in Group B, all vying for the top seed in their bracket.
Later in the day, the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament kicks off at 6:15 p.m. with defending champion University of the East opening its title retention campaign against University of the Philippines.
Despite entering the season as the reigning kings, UE’s Zenith Esports still see themselves as underdogs, sticking with their original roster while other schools took advantage of the offseason to recruit and revamp.
“Sobrang hirap lalo na’t sobrang nag-step up na yung level of competition sa UAAP knowing na marami ng recruit na high calibre players from different teams who came from big teams and professional scene,” said team captain John Zel Bartolo when asked about the challenges of playing without a coach.
Following their opener against UP, UE is also slated to face De La Salle University and National University in the group stage.
Group B of the Mobile Legends tournament features Adamson University, Ateneo de Manila University, Far Eastern University, and University of Santo Tomas.
The group stage for both NBA 2K and MLBB will run from May 13 to 15, using a single round-robin, best-of-three format.
The top two teams from each group will then advance to the crossover semifinals on May 16, with the winners competing for the championship later that same day.
All matches will be streamed live on Pilipinas Live and air on the UAAP Varsity Channel.
Games Tuesday
(Quantum Skyview Deck, Gateway Mall 2)
10 a.m. – UST vs FEU (MLBB)
10 a.m. – FEU vs UP (NBA 2K)
12:15 p.m. – ADU vs NU (NBA 2K)
12:45 p.m. – NU vs DLSU (MLBB)
2:30 p.m. – DLSU vs Ateneo (NBA 2K)
3:30 p.m. – Ateneo vs ADU (MLBB)
4:45 p.m. – UST vs UE (NBA 2K)
6:15 p.m. – UP vs UE (MLBB)
