UAAP Season 84 president Nong Calanog shared that they are in constant talks with the Mall of Asia Arena and the Pasay City government in allowing the fans to watch the games live with the government easing its COVID-19 restrictions in Metro Manila.

“We’re working on having spectators back by the second round. Hopefully our fans and our friends from the press will be able to have them back, hopefully by the second round,” said Calanog during the league’s press conference on Wednesday at TV5 studios.

“Remember, there are only two weeks from when we start and it’s already the second round. So it won’t take that long and we’ll be able to accommodate our fans,” he continued.

The first round of the men’s basketball stint is set to start this Saturday, March 26, and will follow a strict bubble-to-bubble setup for all eight member-schools 

Moreover, the first round will only run for two weeks as the league has put together a compressed schedule with all eight teams seeing action every play date.

UAAP executive director Atty. Rebo Saguisag bared that they are taking extra caution as they are dealing with student-athletes and not professionals.

“Doon pa lang… someone has to be held liable, in case something happens. So ‘yung extra care. Extra caution lang naman kami. But we’re not saying no,” he said.

“The numbers are there, the science is there, and for as long as we keep our masks on, and the numbers keep going down, I’m very hopeful. Maybe, baka even after a couple of games, ‘pag talagang the dust has settled, maybe we can start putting in the fans,” he added.