RESURGENT Ateneo plays defending champion De La Salle in an interesting rivalry game as the UAAP Season 87 collegiate men’s basketball tournament resumes at the SM Mall of Asia Arena today (Saturday).
The Green Archers conquered the Blue Eagles, 74-61, in their first meeting last Sept. 15.
With the postponement of last Wednesday’s Ateneo-Adamson match due to Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin has no recourse but to immediately shift his focus to the Final Four-bound De La Salle.
The Blue Eagles hope that the momentum of their two-game winning streak will be sustained in their 6:30 p.m. showdown with the Green Archers.
Sporting a 3-6 record, Ateneo suddenly found itself just half-a-game behind University of Santo Tomas (4-6) in the race for the last Final Four slot.
“Because we had such a tough start, it allows us, I guess, to be a little bit more laser focused on how these guys are growing and developing as players. And we all know that the philosophy of the Blue Eagle program is that process yields results,” Baldwin said.
“It’s really consistent with what we’ve always taught. It’s just that there’s more pressure on the process externally because people want results. But we will maintain, you know, our same, I guess, integrity to the purpose that we always try to maintain,” he added.
After securing a place in the Final Four with a league-best 9-1 slate, De La Salle’s next goal is to assure a twice-to-beat advantage.
Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson knows that a different Ateneo team will show up in their second rivalry game this year.
The Green Archers are coming off a seven-day break after a stretch of playing three games in a week bridging first and second rounds, the same amount of rest the Blue Eagles now has due to the postponement of their duel with the Falcons.
“It will never change, you know. Whether where you are now right now, you standing, you just forget everything because it’s gonna be Ateneo. So we know that they are coming off a good run. Their guys are really picking up the system, the staff are doing there, with coach Tab’s. So there’s always gonna be excitement. You play one of the best programs and there is so much history in this,” Robinson said.
“We are so grateful to be a part of it. We keep on reminding our players that we watched those rivalries when we were growing up and dream of being part of that rivalry and being a part of this historic match-up. So I guess more than anything else, we are so excited to play our worthy rivals,” he added.
Rookies Jared Bahay and Kristian Porter have been sensational in the Blue Eagles’ last two games, giving a hint of what lies ahead in the future.
Reigning MVP Kevin Quiambao has been churning out his usual numbers and De La Salle has been drawing out the best from Joshua David as of late.
University of the East, which has its scheduled match-up with University of the Philippines last Wednesday also postponed due to the storm, seeks to regain its winning plays against National University at 2 p.m.
The Red Warriors, who are running third with a 5-3 card, saw their five-game winning streak came to a halt with a 68-77 loss to the Green Archers at the start of the second round.
Opening the second round with back-to-back defeats and are now sitting in last place with a 2-7 mark, the Bulldogs cannot afford to commit any missteps from now on if they want to stay in the Final Four chase.
In the women’s division, unbeaten NU shoots for a ninth straight victory against UE at 10 a.m., while Ateneo tries to arrest a three-game losing skid in their 12 noon duel with De La Salle.
Games Saturday
(SM Mall of Asia Arena)
8 a.m. – NUNS vs UPIS (JHS)
10 a.m. – UE vs NU (Women)
12 noon – DLSU vs Ateneo (Women)
2 p.m. – UE vs NU (Men)
6:30 p.m. – DLSU vs Ateneo (Men)
