Your Complete Guide to the UAAP 2018 Basketball Schedule and Season Results
As a longtime follower of collegiate sports and someone who has spent years analyzing game schedules and their psychological impacts, I found the UAAP Season 81 basketball calendar to be one of the most strategically fascinating in recent memory. The title says it all – this is your complete guide – but I want to dig deeper than just dates and scores. I want to talk about the rhythm of the season, the undeniable advantage of a strong start, and how the final standings were a testament to resilience as much as skill. Let’s be honest, looking at the schedule before a ball is even dribbled, you can’t help but circle certain games and make predictions. The opening stretch, in particular, always sets the tone. I remember glancing at the University of Santo Tomas’s early fixtures and thinking they had a golden chance to build immediate momentum with a favorable homestand. This brings me to a point perfectly encapsulated by that quote about Cabañero’s mindset. While playing at home may seem a tad too favorable for some, the great players and teams couldn’t care less if naysayers were to paint a negative picture on their homestand to start the season. That attitude is everything. In a league as fiercely competitive as the UAAP, you take every advantage you can get, and a confident start at home can be the foundation for an entire campaign.
The season kicked off on September 8, 2018, and followed a double-round robin format, meaning each of the eight teams played every other team twice. The first round concluded on October 14, and after a brief break, the second round ran from October 21 all the way to the final elimination game on November 11. Now, here’s where the schedule really played its part. Ateneo de Manila University, the eventual champions, did something masterful: they managed their peaks and valleys. They didn’t start with a huge homestand, but they built consistency. I had them pegged for a top-two finish, but even I was impressed by their 13-1 elimination round record. Their only loss came surprisingly early, a 71-74 upset to the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in the first round. That loss, ironically, might have been the wake-up call they needed. Meanwhile, teams like UST and University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons had those critical early home games. UP, in particular, rode that early energy from their passionate home crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena to crucial wins, finishing the eliminations at 8-6 and securing a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four. That’s no small feat. The schedule gave them a platform, and their players, led by Bright Akhuetie and Juan Gomez de Liaño, seized it.
Let’s talk results, because the numbers tell a compelling story. The Final Four was a classic. You had Ateneo (13-1) enjoying that colossal twice-to-beat edge against fourth-seeded Adamson University (9-5). In the other bracket, it was UP (8-6) facing FEU (9-5). This is where preseason predictions often go out the window. Adamson, with a phenomenal season from Jerrick Ahanmisi, pushed Ateneo to the limit in their first game, losing a heartbreaker 68-70. In the do-or-die game, Ateneo’s championship composure shone through with a more decisive 85-71 victory. The other series was pure drama. UP, in their first Final Four appearance in over two decades, defeated FEU in their first meeting, 73-71. They didn’t need the twice-to-beat bonus; they stamped their authority right away. That set up a dream finals matchup: the blue-chip, perennial contenders Ateneo versus the Cinderella-story, heart-and-soul squad from UP. It was a narrative goldmine.
The best-of-three finals series, played on November 24, December 1, and December 5, was an absolute spectacle. Game 1 was a statement. Ateneo won 88-79, but the score doesn’t reflect how UP challenged them. Game 2, however, is where the Ateneo machine shifted into a gear I’m not sure anyone else had. They dismantled UP 99-81, with Thirdy Ravena putting on a finals MVP performance—I believe he averaged around 29 points and 8 rebounds for the series, just dominant. The sweep felt inevitable once they got rolling, but it took nothing away from UP’s historic run. My personal take? While Ateneo was clearly the best team, the most valuable element of the season was the resurgence of UP. It changed the league’s landscape. It proved that with the right mix of talent, coaching, and seizing those early schedule opportunities, any program could rise. So, when you look back at the UAAP Season 81 schedule and results, don’t just see a timeline. See the story of a champion who weathered one early storm, and a challenger who used its homestand not as a crutch, but as a springboard. The schedule provides the framework, but the players write the script. And what a script it was.
