It’s UAAP season again, when one of the biggest rivalries in Philippine sports unfolds.

There never really is a season when you don’t see the Araneta Coliseum packed with people in green and blue. Even the malls around the Coliseum and the MRT going to and from the Coliseum perk up with green and blue, teeming with partisans all set for the battle.

It certainly helps this season that both teams have new players to watch out for. It makes all the difference in keeping people either glued to their seats watching at home or barely sitting down while watching it live.

On the first confrontation this season, the first half of the game set the crowd rooting for La Salle in a frenzy: the team showed why it is the defending champion. The Blue Babble Battalion and the DLSU Animo Squad did extra special halftime performances. You could feel the extra energy they were pouring into their traditional cheers.

The blue team created a bigger lead to eventually win the game for Ateneo. Immediately after the final buzzer sounded, the DLSU fans broke into applause for their fierce rival. It was a heartwarming show of respect … until the next showdown.

Here are shots of the crowd before and after the game.