Written by Julia Mangmang, Kendra Osias, and Gabbie Senatin

As UAAP Season 87 hosts, University of the Philippines embraced its theme “Stronger, Better, Together”, ranking second in the collegiate general championship with 269 points, trailing eight-peat general champion UST’s 346 and ahead of third-placer La Salle’s 261.

Kicking off the festivities was the inaugural Esports Tournament, a showcase in NBA 2K, Valorant, and Mobile Legends—held in August of 2024 as a special event ahead of the main season. Here, UP bagged the bronze in the Valorant tournament. 

Handing UP its first gold of the season was the Women’s Badminton Varsity Team. Avenging their back-to-back silver finishes in Seasons 85 and 86, the team stayed undefeated the whole tournament. They went on to oust four-time defending Ateneo, 3-1, in the finals to clinch victory. Anthea Marie Gonzalez was named the season’s Most Valuable Player.

Their male counterparts, however, succumbed to Ateneo in the semifinals, but managed to overcome UST in the battle for third to claim their third consecutive bronze. Shan Clar was also awarded Rookie of the Year.

Even with a storm disrupting events and challenging conditions on the track, UP’s resilience shone through as the men’s athletics team clinched the gold, and the women’s team nabbed bronze. 

The men’s squad reclaimed the championship, topping the leaderboard with 290 points, just ahead of FEU’s 286 and UST’s 236. Contributing to the overall championship were Ed Deliña, who won both shot put and hammer throw and Clint Niño Neri’s golds in long jump and triple jump. Josh Buenavista, on the other hand, captured silver at the 3,000 m steeplechase, while the men’s 4×400 m relay team brought home the bronze.

On the other hand, the women’s team finished with 195 points, FEU’s 397.5 and UST’s 291.5. Mea Gey Niñura emerged as champion in both the 5,000 m and 10,000 m walk, while Ainah Masangkay got the discus throw gold. 

Christmas came early for the community as the Men’s Basketball Team reclaimed the championship back to Diliman after back-to-back second place finishes, going up against Season 86 champions De La Salle University. This victory was the sweetest end to the fifth and final year of King Maroon JD Cagulangan, who was named Finals MVP on top of his Mythical Five membership.

After nine long years, the wait was over for the UP Streetdance Club as they clinched the top spot at the competition with their magic-filled performance, toppling back-to-back champions UST, and soaring to first place after two consecutive bronze finishes. 

This gold trophy was the perfect end to UAAP Season 87, as the competition took place on the same day as the closing ceremony for the season — giving the University of the Philippines their final win. 

The UP Women’s Varsity Swim Team failed to defend their title, claiming silver, with Kate Dequiña, Atasha Dela Torre, Louise Lacson, and Quendy Fernandez breaking the UAAP record for the Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay with a time of 4:03.22. Last season’s Rookie of the Year, Fernandez, also shattered the UAAP record for the Women’s 100m Backstroke with a time of 1:03.97.

Though unable to defend last season’s gold finish, the UP Men’s Judo Team still managed to close out the competition with three gold, two silver, and seven bronze medals, to come to their silver placement. 

In standard chess, the UP men’s team earned a runner-up finish with 13 match points trailing champions UST, who tallied 17, while the women’s team settled for fifth with nine points. Meanwhile, the men also clinched bronze in rapid chess and placed fourth in blitz chess, both events being introduced as demonstration events this season. On the women’s side, the team ended both the blitz and rapid chess events in seventh place.

Third time was not the charm for the UP Softball Team, bowing to historical 12-peat champions Adamson University, finishing as runners-up after two thrilling finals games. Nickole Dela Cruz took home four of nine individual awards, namely: Most Valuable Player, Most RBIs, Best Slugger, and Best Hitter. Additionally, Angel Joanna Pascual was awarded Most Stolen Bases.

On the other hand, the UP Fencing Team secured podiums in both the men’s and women’s division, the former coming in second with a total of five medals (two gold, one silver, two bronze), edging out DLSU. The women’s side, meanwhile, finished in third with a total of six medals (one gold, one silver, and four bronze).

Earning bronze placements are the UP Men’s Varsity Swim Team and the back-to-back medalists UP Esports Varsity Team for Valorant. The latter team also participated in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) and NBA2K tournaments but were unable to advance to the next rounds. 

The UP Men’s Football Team failed to defend their Season 86 title, ending their season in third place. Despite an unprecedented climb to second in the standings by the end of the eliminations after a stunning second-round run, the UPMFT narrowly missed out on a finals appearance after a 1-0 loss to eventual champions Far Eastern University.

Both the Men’s and Women’s teams of the UP Tennis Team also clinched bronze in this season’s tournament. The Men’s team challenged eventual champions NU, forcing a rubber match in their semifinal clash. Following a spectacular showing, Jufe Ann Cocoy of the Women’s Team was among the recipients of the Most Valuable Player Award.

Coming from a bronze medal finish last season, the UP Women’s Basketball Team ended their campaign in fifth place, but with Louna Ozar earning the coveted position of being a Mythical Five member. The UP Women’s Judo Team also came out at fifth.

In beach volleyball, the men’s team reached the final four with a 4-3 record, ultimately falling short against NU in the semifinal and FEU in the battle for third. The women’s team, on the other hand, earned a 2-5 record and secured a joint-fifth spot with the Ateneo Blue Eagles. 

With their vibrant costumes and electric summer-themed performance, the UP Pep Squad danced their way to the sixth placement.

Despite both men’s and women’s volleyball teams falling short of the final four at sixth place, they showed a much better performance than last season. The men’s team finished at 4-10, taking eventual-runners up FEU Tamaraws to five frames, and nabbing sets against title contenders like the NU Bulldogs and the De La Salle Green Spikers.

Meanwhile, the women’s team handed eventual-champions NU its first loss of the season, even bagging wins against final four teams La Salle and FEU. They were in the running for a final four stop midway in the second round, but were eliminated by UST in their rematch. Niña Ytang also claimed her third consecutive second best middle blocker award.

UP’s men’s table tennis team finished the tournament with a 5-7 record at fifth place, while the women’s team landed at joint-sixth with the UE Lady Warriors at 3-9. 

Its women’s kyorugi team finished in fourth place, narrowly missing the podium, while their male counterparts settled for sixth. Both men’s and women’s finished the taekwondo tournament in sixth overall. In poomsae, UP also placed fourth.

The UP Women’s Football Team finished in fourth after back-to-back third places with a record of two wins, two draws, and two losses.

The women’s 3×3 Basketball team had a strong elimination round, securing the second seed with a 5-2 slate. However, their Final Four run ended in heartbreak, falling to FEU in the semifinals 12-13, before narrowly missing the podium with a 14-15 loss to UST in the battle for third. As for the men’s squad, they finished seventh, posting a 2-5 record. 

The UP Baseball Team ended in fifth place, succumbing to the Adamson Soaring Falcons in a narrow 16-15 playoff loss. Team Captain and Season 86 MVP Efril Ian Mercado managed one last cap in his collegiate career, taking the title of Best Hitter for Season 87.

As the season closed, UP handed over the mantle of host to UST, which proudly welcomed everyone to Season 88 under the theme, “Strength in Motion, Hope in Action”, and is set to open mid-late September 2025, 

Here’s looking forward to another thrilling season filled with excellence, camaraderie, and renewed school spirit.