UP Cebu HS football team to play in UAAP 

CEBU CITY — The Cebu campus of the University of the Philippines (UP) will make history as the first school outside the National Capital Region (NCR) to compete in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) high school football tournament. The UP High School Cebu (UPHS Cebu) juniors football team will be the 9th team in UAAP Season 89 high school football tournament. It will face established high school programs, including defending champion Far Eastern University (FEU) Diliman, University of Santo Tomas (UST), De La Salle Zobel, Ateneo de Manila University, Adamson University and UP Diliman. The UAAP board approved UP Cebu's participation as a guest team in March 2026. The university introduced the 23-player squad, coaching staff and preparations for its first UAAP campaign during a press conference on Wednesday. UP Cebu chancellor Leo Malagar conceptualized the initiative to provide student-athletes from the provinces with opportunities to compete at the national level while continuing their education with their mother school. Malagar said the UAAP has traditionally served as a competition stage for schools in Metro Manila, making it difficult for talented athletes from the provinces to participate because of the distance and financial requirements of moving to NCR. “The UAAP has been a Manila stage....