The coaches of the UAAP men's and women's basketball teams ahead of Season 88, September 15, 2025 at Gloria Maris in Greenhills. UAAP Media
MANILA - The UAAP Season 88 basketball tournament is set to return in full action on Saturday, a day right after the Paskuhan-inspired grand opening ceremony at the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
With all eight schools gearing up for the new campaign, UAAP basketball commissioner Jai Reyes revealed that the league is "heavily" aligning itself with FIBA standards, promising fans better on-the-court product with international-experienced referees.
According to the former basketball player, the league will begin attaching microphones to referees for assessment and grading purposes.
READ: What to expect in the UAAP Season 88 opening ceremony
"I'm proud to say that we are having in our pool most of the FIBA referees that represent the Philippines in international competitions," Reyes said. "One exciting development would be we would be mic'ing up our referees not yet for broadcast purposes."
"We want our referees to be just like our players for them to improve yearly so we can make our product on the court the best as possible," he added.
The men's basketball tournament will commence on Sept. 20 at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion, featuring the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws against the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Up next will be the Adamson Soaring Falcons facing off last year's silver-medalists De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers.
Meanwhile, the women's division will kick off four days later at the same venue, which will feature bouts between Ateneo and the University of the East, followed by the University of the Philippines versus Adamson.
READ: Brighter lights, bigger stage expected in Season 88 —‘Every team is more competitive’
HOMEGROWN TALENTS
For the second straight year, the UAAP collected an all-homegrown lineup of Season 88 correspondents.
"Last year we ventured out and said, 'Let's put together a batch of homegrown correspondents, eight correspondents from all eight schools.' We're happy to note, we'll get to do that again," Cignal Sports Content Head Mico Halili said in the press conference.
"And because students from school saw that their classmates or batchmates and schoolmates were covering for UE, and NU, and Adamson, we saw an upsurge in the number of applicants who auditioned this year," he added.
Aside from that, Halili also welcomed four new basketball analysts for the upcoming season's broadcast in both the men's and women's divisions.
It includes the two-time UAAP women's champion and National University star Camille Clarin, Adamson Lady Falcons coach Jed Colonia, ex-UE guard Paul Zamar, and former FEU Tamaraw Kenneth Tuffin.
This move guarantees that all eight UAAP member institutions are represented in the broadcast panel of analysts, which is said to be part of the league's commitment to develop athletes even after graduation from their respective schools.