By Aimerose C. Atienza

The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) looks for a possible resumption of face-to-face basketball and volleyball tournaments with student-athletes of participating schools, including Far Eastern University (FEU), acquiring the vaccine in preparation for Season 84.

The UAAP aims to start the basketball tourney by mid-February 2022, while volleyball competitions will commence after Holy Week.

Spearheaded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) along with the UAAP, student-athletes started receiving their first dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the CHED’s facility in Diliman, Quezon City last October 20. 

One of the recipients is John Paul Salabsab of the FEU men’s volleyball team, who said that training will start once student-athletes are fully vaccinated. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, second-semester tournaments of UAAP Season 82 were terminated while the whole season 83 was canceled.

In the segment UAAP Talk, UAAP Executive Director Atty. Rebo Saguisag mentioned during the first episode that the possibility of Season 84 comeback will be based on vaccine rollouts.

According to UAAP Season 84 President Nonong Calanog of the De La Salle University (DLSU), the league has already fully vaccinated at least 100% of the basketball and volleyball varsities of the participating schools.

With this, the league hopes to return the student-athletes to over three months of training as early as November 1.

"We have three and a half months for them to train to get back in competition shape to be able to start by mid-February. More or less, that’s the schedule," Calanog said during the ceremonial vaccination for collegiate student-athletes of CHED.

The country’s chief implementer for COVID-19 policies, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. also emphasized the importance of student-athletes getting vaccinated for the league. 

"Kailangan talaga kasi (It is really needed because) one unvaccinated individual will pose a risk to the vaccinated," Galvez said in a report by CNN Philippines.

The UAAP together with CHED are still making constant efforts to vaccinate all student-athletes and set guidelines to launch the collegiate league.

(Photo courtesy of ABS-CBN News)