IT’S only fitting that two of the three most successful teams in University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball take center stage, as the Season 78 championship showdown begins on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Far Eastern University (FEU), the school with the most number of UAAP titles with 19, and University of Santo Tomas (UST), tied with University of the East (UE) with 18 championships, clash in Game One of the best-of-three championship series at 3:30 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Tamaraws and Growling Tigers finished 1-2 after the eliminations and defeated their Final Four opponents in contrasting fashions to meet in the finals for the first time since 1979.
Both schools are hungry and they have veterans who want to leave the league as champions.
Before the season, FEU was labeled as the team to beat with its deep bench and versatile players, like Mac Belo, Mike Tolomia and Roger Pogoy. Put in Head Coach Nash Racela’s solid second unit and they look ripe for the title.
UST, the team that missed the Final Four last season, was the biggest surprise after finishing as No. 1 seed. The Growling Tigers also swept the Tamaraws in the elimination round.
“Even if we beat them twice, this [finals] is a different story,” said Growling Tigers Head Coach Bong de la Cruz, referring to their 72-71 escape in the first round and a come-from-behind 85-76 victory in their second meeting.
And that’s also one of the reasons Racela wants to take on UST in the finals.
The Tamaraws, who edged Ateneo de Manila in the semifinals, 76-74, on Belo’s game-winner, have the championship experience that could be the key in the series. FEU lost to National University (NU) in the finals last year despite winning the series opener.
Racela said the experience last season will be a big plus for them.
“I think we will bring our maturity and character in the finals. We have that right now and it will be the difference,” Racela added. “We know each other already.”
Belo, Pogoy and Tolomia are the three graduating Tamaraws who want to end the season with a crown, but on the other side of the fence, Kevin Ferrer, Ed Daquioag and Karim Abdul are also playing their last season in the UAAP and are eager to bring back the crown to España.
“This is our last shot to win it, so we have to give our all,” said Ferrer, who finished second to Blue Eagle Kiefer Ravena in the Most Valuable Player race.
At the Philippine Sports Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate on Tuesday morning, FEU Team Manager Richie Ticzon said the Tamaraws are ready for their clash against the Growling Tigers.
“We wanted to get back to the finals again because we loss last year against NU. So Coach Nash’s mind-set is to enter the finals and, hopefully, we could perform better this year compared to last year and, hopefully, get the championship,” he added.
Ticzon said the Tamaraws are not resting their guards because they were beaten twice by UST in the eliminations.
“Definitely they have the advantage because they won twice against us in the eliminations,” Ticzon said. “So at this point we should see it as a challenge. We loss the first two games but this is a different ball game, it’s the finals.”
“We just have to learn from our mistakes, try to understand how we could beat UST, and execute the game plan, whatever Coach Nash prepared, hopefully we can turn it around,” he added.
FEU won its last championship in 2005, while UST triumphed last in 2006. The Tamaraws finished second in 2010 and 2011 against Ateneo, while UST lost to Ateneo and De La Salle in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
In the 1979 finals, FEU beat UST for the crown at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym.
(With Lance Agcaoili)