PHOTO: Philippine Star
The folks who came up with the list of the UAAP Hotties 2013 would have you know that this was not some arbitrary selection based on good looks, court prowess and fan appreciation. Hell, no. The list was a product of rigorous, systematic testing involving dozens of researchers and hundreds of thousands of pesos of scientific equipment: The research team set up sound meters all around the MOA Arena, where the 76th season of the UAAP resumed on Wednesday last week. The sound meters measured the number of decibels generated by screaming fans when each player was introduced or caught on television cameras. Heat sensors were also embedded in the seats to gauge increases in temperature as fans caught glimpses of their favorite players. The data collected by these sophisticated instruments was later plotted, graphed and analyzed to produce the final list of 24, as well as permutations thereof, including “the hottest cagers after the first round” (FEU’s Terrence Romeo, UE’s Roi Sumang, UST’s Jeric Teng, Lasalle’s Jeron Teng and Arnold van Opstal and Adamson’s Rodney Brondial and Jericho Cruz. Showbiz manager and reporter Nap Gutierrez, who headed the research team, is set to publish its detailed findings in the journal Science before the year is out.
