Ask a casual fan to name a University Athletic Association of the Philippines basketball rivalry and you’ll most probably get: Ateneo-La Salle. The Battle of Katipunan. The Battle of the East. The Battle of the Birds. Maybe De La Salle U vs. State U – the trilogy still unfolding into a possible tetralogy.
But there’s another rivalry flying under the radar that’s driven by intense and cutthroat competition. It involves both basketball and volleyball teams and runs strong in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
Far Eastern U versus National U. Tamaraws versus Bulldogs. It’s not loud. It’s not always on primetime. But it’s the rivalry that never really goes away.
In basketball, it has history that still stings. In volleyball, meetings seem fated and destiny-arranged.
October 15, 2014. Smart Araneta Coliseum. Game 3. The National University Bulldogs defeated the Far Eastern University Tamaraws 75-59 to win the UAAP men’s basketball championship. It was only NU’s second title, its first in 60 years since the days of its iconic Bulldog, Narciso Bernardo, who won them their first UAAP crown in 1954.
That winner-take-all game in ’54 was played at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. FEU, already considered basketball royalty at that time had four UAAP championships to its name (1938, 1939, 1947 and 1950). It was NU’s very first UAAP Men’s basketball title since the league was founded in 1938. That year they beat FEU in the finals too.
In 2014, FEU was supposed to have claimed its 20th title. Instead, NU ended a 60-year drought – again on FEU’s watch. Ray Parks, Troy Rosario, Gelo Alolino didn’t just win a championship. They closed a chapter FEU thought it owned.
Since then, every FEU-NU game in basketball has had that undercurrent humming underneath the floorboards. NU beat FEU 85-79 in the first round of UAAP Season 82, finally getting their first win after successive losses – again at the expense of FEU.
In the second round, NU embarrassed FEU with a lopsided 61-39 win. But come Season 84, FEU stole a win in the most painful way for NU. Xyrus Torres hurled a slightly off-balanced shot with 2.2 seconds to go. The shot fell through and shook the Bulldogs to their very core. 57, NU; 59, FEU.
So now, when Bulldogs and Tamaraws trade blows at Araneta and the Mall Of Asia Arena, it’s never just about standings. It’s about who remembers 2014 better. It’s a never ending story.
In volleyball, the rivalry is even more personal.
NU and FEU squared off for UAAP men’s volleyball supremacy in Seasons 87 and 88. In ’87, FEU was top dog following an impressive 13-1 finish in the eliminations. Their lone defeat came at the hands of a team chasing a historic five-peat – NU.
FEU swept NU 27-25, 25-14, 25-23 in the first round. NU answered back 17-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-14, 15-9 in the second round, dealing FEU its only loss that denied them an outright finals berth.
After FEU and NU battled it out in the men’s volleyball finals in Season 87, they faced off with each other again in Season 88. FEU could have won its 26th men’s volleyball crown that season – a title long overdue since 2012. But the Buds Buddin, Leo Ordiales, Leo Aringo and Jade Disquitado-led Bulldogs frustrated the Dryx Saavedra and Miko Espartero-led Tamaraws. They were so close.
The following year, FEU’s most dominant season yet, they were again defeated by the hardworking Bulldogs in the men’s championship series. NU got to complete its six-peat while the Tams stayed silver for another year.
On the women’s side, it’s just as tight. National University avenged a stunning loss to Far Eastern University and came out with a dominating 25-13, 27-25, 25-15 victory in Season 86, forging a Finals duel. In Season 88, NU completed a reverse sweep 17-25, 16-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-12, then FEU outlasted NU in a five-set thriller 25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 21-25, 22-20 – the longest five-setter of the season. It was De La Salle Lady Spikers though who were crowned women’s volleyball champs last year.
To summarize, FEU is the old empire – 20 basketball titles, 25 volleyball titles, the Morayta factory that has produced gladiators since the 1930s. NU is the new dynasty – the school that waited 60 years for one basketball title and then decided it didn’t want to wait anymore for anything.
The UAAP is so big on rivalries, you can actually choose your flavor. A word of advice, however. Don’t just go for the strawberry, chocolate or vanilla flavors. Try this chili-flavored rivalry for the ages. For a change.