Bring out the balloons and the banners! The UAAP is back in full swing as Season 71 opened its lurid curtains over the weekend at the historic Araneta Coliseum. This year’s host University of the Philippines rolled out the maroon carpet for the seven other teams competing for the coveted collegiate hardware.

UAAP is all about basketball whether the school officials admit it or not, so this post will just be solely about the sport we Filipinos love the most (unless you want me to give you a projection of this season’s judo tournament). Collegiate basketball is in fever pitch yet again!

Most coaches and naysayers acquiesce that this season is one of the most balanced in recent memory. I beg to differ (despite my non-credibility). Season 71 will still see the dominance of the more celebrated schools just like before. UE, Ateneo, and La Salle will still lord it over the standings, while UP and NU will still languish at the bottom. Just like in the previous seasons, UST, FEU, and Adamson will pull some surprises here and there and will be the dark horses. Maybe the coaches are just downplaying their respective chances and the experts are just trying to make the season sound more interesting, still, I don’t see any balance in the level of competition.

I was supposed to make my annual unsolicited UAAP preview last week but laziness won me over. My harrowingly loyal readers (all three of them) are clamoring for my usually off-the-mark season prediction so here it is. My analyses are all based on what I know from last season so they are not affected by the opening games during the weekend (all the eight teams have already played).