As the main campuses of both schools are located alongKatipunan Avenue inQuezon City, games between Ateneo and UP are referred to as the "Battle of Katipunan".[2]
Friendly basketball games between Ateneo and UP were held in the 1920s. The games saw the introduction of organizedcheerleading in the Philippines by Ateneo to boost their teams.[3] In 1924, both schools co-founded the NCAA. UP left the NCAA in 1938 and co-founded the UAAP. Ateneo left the NCAA in 1978 due to violence in games, and joined the UAAP.[4] Ateneo–UP basketball games were originally held inIntramuros.
Both schools have enjoyed success in basketball in both the NCAA and UAAP. In terms of total collegiate and high school basketball titles won in the NCAA and UAAP, Ateneo leads UP, 58–18. In men's basketball, Ateneo has a total of 26 championship titles whereas UP has seven. The Blue Eagles have 14 NCAA titles and 12 UAAP titles while the Fighting Maroons have four NCAA titles and three UAAP titles. In juniors' basketball, Ateneo has 11 NCAA titles and 19 UAAP titles, for a total of 30, whereas UP has three NCAA titles and one UAAP title, for four in total. In women's basketball, both schools have only won titles in the UAAP as the NCAA does not have a women's basketball tournament, where UP leads Ateneo, 7–2.
The Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UP Fighting Maroons have met in the championship of the UAAP three times. Ateneo won in Season 81 in 2018,[5][6] and in Season 85 held in 2022,[7][8] whereas UP won in Season 84 in 2022.[9][10] Since 1994, Ateneo leads UP 48–22 in head-to-head matches. In the juniors' division, the UP Junior Fighting Maroons defeated the seeded Ateneo Blue Eaglets in 2002.
UP leads Ateneo in total championships won, 20–19, with the lone women's title for the Fighting Maroons inUAAP Season 78 being the difference.
Ateneo has six NCAA men's titles, three NCAA boys' titles, and 10 UAAP men's titles. On the other hand, UP has 19 UAAP men's titles and one UAAP women's title.
Ateneo and UP have twice faced off in the UAAP men's football championship finals, with each school prevailing once.
Ateneo leads UP in terms of total championships won, 15–12. Ateneo has two NCAA men's titles, one NCAA women's title, and six NCAA boys' titles, as well as three UAAP men's titles and three UAAP women's titles. UP has four UAAP men's titles, and eight UAAP women's titles.