UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas and Ateneo, separated by just half a game for the No. 4 spot, face off in a rematch of their epic first-round encounter today (Saturday) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.
The Growling Tigers outlasted the Blue Eagles, 98-89, in the league’s first triple-overtime game in the Final Four era last October 11.
Since that classic showdown, both teams have struggled. UST, which was in second place behind National University at 4-1, has dropped four of its last six games to barely hold on to the fourth spot. Ateneo, meanwhile, suffered back-to-back losses and three more defeats before ending a five-game skid with a win over University of the East last week.
There is no room for error for the Growling Tigers (6-5) and the Blue Eagles (5-5) in the 4:30 p.m. contest, which carries major implications for the race for the last Final Four slot.
Earlier, the Bulldogs aim to secure the first twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four against a Red Warriors squad striving to avoid a winless campaign in the 1:30 p.m. opener.
As Ateneo overcame a hurdle with a 78-74 victory over UE, coach Tab Baldwin stressed that at this stage of the season, one win or loss could drastically shake up the standings.
“I don’t think anybody should be sitting there feeling really confident. Maybe NU, you know, they’re in a good position right now. But the pack is tight and talented. And when you look at, you know, Adamson and ourselves sitting there, both of us having lost to FEU. And, you know, FEU is another team that you just can’t, you know, go to sleep on them. I don’t feel confident,” Baldwin said.
“But we’re in with a fight, you know. And I think that’s the first thing. You know, you gotta punch your ticket to get there by being in the fight. And so now, you know, it was a good win today because if we didn’t get that one, it would’ve been really, really tough. It’s still going to be really, really tough. But now we have, you know, a puncher’s chance. And that’s all you can really ask for.
“The league this year is crazy, you know, and a lot of fun. And I think everybody’s going to be watching this next game very closely. And every game day now, I think standings are going to swing around back and forth. So that’s why I think nobody can really be comfortable right now. And you gotta show up every game and play it like it’s a playoff game now,” he added.
UST is simply glad to have ended its losing streak after an impressive 5-1 start, and more importantly, its Final Four destiny remains intact. Coming off a 109-97 win over the Red Warriors last Wednesday, assistant coach Japs Cuan wants the Growling Tigers to stay focused on their next opponent—the Blue Eagles.
“’Yung mindset naman namin is one game at a time. ‘Yung opportunity naman is nasa kamay na namin, we just have to win all those games, and we just have to take everything one game at a time. We don’t want to look ahead, focus lang kami sa Ateneo na next game namin,” said Cuan.
UST also hopes to continue its dominant run in the women’s division as the Season 86 champions aim for a 12th consecutive win against Ateneo at 7 p.m.
Assistant coach Ged Austria, who will temporarily take over for head coach Haydee Ong (suspended after accumulating two technical fouls this season), believes the Tigresses are not the hunted.
“We’ve gone through a lot of heartbreaks, lalo na yung last year, so it’s not just one year na mukha kaming dominant kahit everyone is saying that, pero in previous years, ang golden standard is NU kasi seven-peat sila,” Austria said.
“While everyone is saying na dominant kami, we don’t want to look at it that way na kami yung nasa top kasi hindi pa naman kami yung defending champion this season. Kami pa rin yung naghahabol. We have that goal, but at the same time, gusto lang namin mag-stick to the process,” added Austria, son of multi-titled PBA coach Leo Austria.
Holding a 7-3 record, Ateneo aims to pull off a reversal and stay on course for a fourth consecutive Final Four berth. Meanwhile, holders NU seek a 10th straight win—and 11th overall in 12 games—when they face UE at 1:30 p.m.
In 16U action, NU-Nazareth (12-0) looks to move closer to securing an outright Finals berth against back-to-back title-seeking UE (7-5), who are fighting for their Final Four lives at 9:30 a.m. UST (8-3) seeks solo second place when it clashes with also-ran Ateneo (2-8) at 7:30 a.m.
All games will air live on the Pilipinas Live app, One Sports, and the UAAP Varsity Channel.
