At the start of the second round, the defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles will be a more defensive-minded team.
Coach Tab Baldwin said the squad is making more adjustments in this area now that they are halfway through their campaign in the 82nd University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.
The Blue Eagles plan to showcase this when they take on the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers at 4 pm today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“You can’t be successful if you can’t contain the ball on the perimeter. And fortunately, we have different defensive schemes. We prefer to be a man-to-man defensive team,” said Baldwin.
Meanwhile, an appeal made to decrease the three-game ban slapped on University of the Philippines head coach Bo Perasol was denied by the UAAP.
Perasol was sanctioned for his outburst in Sunday’s game against the Ateneo Blue Eagles and his rant against the referees.
Commissioner Jensen Ilagan upheld the decision to punish Perasol.
The decision, however, was not received well by lawyers of the Maroons’ side.
Lawyer Patricia Galang, in a statement, said the decision was “terribly misguided and based on a poor understanding of the tournament rules.”
The Blue Eagles have swept their seven-game assignment in the first round after they downed the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 89-63, last Sunday.
The Growling Tigers are coming off a 77-92 loss to the La Salle Green Archers and have a 4-3 slate at third spot.
Earlier at 2 p.m., the University of the East Warriors clash with the Adamson Falcons.
The Falcons are in a three-way tie for fourth place at 3-4 with Far Eastern University and La Salle.
The Warriors (2-6) are seeking their third win after turning back National University, 78-72.
A battle under the boards is expected to happen with UST slotman Soulemane Chabi Yo leading the race with 82.71 Statistical Points (Sps).
Yo got into the lead with his averages of 19.9 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists.
Blue Eagle cager Angelo Kouame trails Yo with 81.43 SPs off his norms of 14.0 points, 13.1 rebounds, 4.9 blocks, 1.3 steals, and 1.1 assists.
In third is the University of the Philippines’ pair of Bright Akhuetie and Kobe Paras with 69.0 and 65.2 SPs, respectively.
Then, there’s University of the East bruiser Alex Diakhite with 64.83 Sps at fourth.
