Today, the nation will be divided as University of the Philippines (UP) battles De La Salle University in Game 3 of the Season 87 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament finals series.

The teams are evenly matched and the series is tied at a game apiece.

The Fighting Maroons drew first blood when a Filipino-American rookie in Jacob Bayla took up the cudgels of defending Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao in the second half of the first game, leading to a 73-65 victory.

But Quiambao bounced back in Game 2 as he torched the Fighting Maroons with his feathery shooting from the perimeter before watching Francis Lopez botch some key plays down the stretch en route to a thrilling 76-75 win.

Now, all bets are off as UP and La Salle collide one last time with the UAAP title on the line. Will the Fighting Maroons return to the throne or will the Green Archers retain their supremacy in the country’s most prestigious collegiate league?

But the battle on the court is just half of the story. There’s a simmering political tension between the top backers of both schools, making this finals not just a basketball match but a collision of leaders of the country.

It is no secret the UP basketball program improved when Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla took over.

With the support of Bo Perasol, Patrick Gregorio, Atty. Agathon Uvero of Nowhere To Go But UP Foundation, and the Robinsons Retail Group of the Gokongwei family, Remulla was able to improve the UP basketball program to become the ultimate destination of quality talent like Carl Tamayo, Zavier Lucero, Ricci Rivero, Gerry Abadiano, Kobe Paras, Joel Cagulangan, Quentin Millora-Brown, Bayla and Lopez.

Remulla’s all-out support, which includes driving from his home in Cavite to either Smart Araneta Coliseum or the Mall of Asia Arena to sit on the Fighting Maroons’ bench during every game, is quite understandable. After all, he was a freshman on the Diliman campus when UP first lifted the UAAP trophy in 1986.

But more than this, Remulla’s close relationship with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. makes his support of the Fighting Maroons truly special.

His family, a political powerhouse in Cavite, forged an iron-clad relationship with the administration with his brother, Jesus Crispin, serving as Justice secretary and his younger brother, Gilbert, serving as director of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

Over on the other side, La Salle is supported by Atty. Manasas Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Carpio, who obtained his AB Political Science degree at La Salle in 1998, came on board at a time the Green Archers’ basketball program needed a boost at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

He was instrumental in recruiting Mark Nonoy and Deo Cuajao from the University of Santo Tomas, as well as Quiambao who was supposed to go to UP following a stellar high school stint at National University Nazareth School.

One of La Salle’s star players, Evan Nelle, even became the boyfriend of Kitty Duterte, Carpio’s sister-in-law and the younger daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

But more than that, Carpio developed a strong relationship with his fellow managers in Raffy Villavicencio and Terry Capistrano and they had the support of their biggest patron, International Container Terminal Services Inc. owner Enrique Razon. This led to the formation of a powerhouse coaching crew composed of Topex Robinson, Caloy Garcia, JB Sison, Mon Jose and Oliver Bunyi.

Their joint effort took them to the UAAP throne last year and today they are shooting for a back-to-back title against a team that has a direct link to the Chief Executive.

With the rocky relationship between President Marcos and Vice President Duterte-Carpio lately over confidential funds, the looming midterm elections, a possible impeachment, and other burning national issues, it will not be a surprise if the battle between UP and La Salle for the UAAP Season 87 title turns into an all-out war.

Well, we only have one thing to say: May the best team win.