ATENEO and De La Salle rekindle their rivalry on Sunday, hoping to end the first round of Season 78 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball action with a bang at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Blue Eagles and Green Archers clash at 4 p.m. Season host University of the Philippines (UP) and Adamson University square off at 11 in the morning.
Ateneo is coming off a 56-43 victory over the Fighting Maroons to seize solo second spot with a 4-2 win-loss record, while De La Salle absorbed a 61-77 loss to University of Santo Tomas to drop to 3-3 and join National University (NU) at fourth place. Blue Eagles Head Coach Bo Perasol said more than their rivalry with the Green Archers, the game is crucial for them to keep pace with the leaders—Far Eastern University (FEU) (5-1) and University of Santo Tomas (4-2).
“It’s just one game. It’s a matter of getting the win,” said Perasol, who will again rely on his veterans Kiefer Ravena and Von Pessumal. Perasol is 3-1 in his head-to-head duel with the Taft-based team.
Ravena said he needs to help the rookies prepare mentally for the encounter with De La Salle.
“We have to make sure the rookies won’t be carried away by their emotions,” said Ravena, who has led Ateneo to six wins in his team’s nine match-ups with the Green Archers since he played for the Loyola-based school in 2011.
The game is very critical for De La Salle because a loss would pull the Green Archers down deeper in the standings and will need a strong second-round campaign to boost their Final Four aspirations.
The Juno Sauler-coached squad has yet to draw consistent performance from the veterans led by Jason Perkins, Thomas Torres and Jeron Teng—although rookie Andrei Caracut has been solid for De La Salle.
UP and Adamson University, meanwhile, try to arrest their own losing streaks to gain confidence entering the next round.
After a promising 2-0 start, the Fighting Maroons dropped their last four assignments, while the Soaring Falcons of rookie Coach Mike Fermin have yet to win this season.
Adamson University, however, is expected to wield the form when they made FEU struggle to a 64-60 win in their last outing.
Standings: FEU 5-1, UST 5-1, Ateneo 4-2, NU 3-3, La Salle 3-3, University of the East 2-4, UP 2-4, Adamson 0-6.