DEFENDING champions Ateneo Blue Eagles and surging De La Salle Green Archers square off in a rivalry game that will determine the final Final Four place, as well as the two twice-to-beat slots in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament’s final weekend.
The Blue Eagles are aiming for their eighth consecutive Final Four berth, while the Green Archers, who have already qualified for a return to the Final Four, are hoping for a second-round sweep today (Saturday) at 6 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Blue Eagles defeated the Green Archers in the opening round, 77-72, to claim their first win in UAAP Season 86. This is also their ninth win over the Green Archers in ten Ateneo-La Salle rivalry games dating back to 2017.
However, in this match, both teams are battling for a critical spot in the Final Four. If Ateneo wins, Adamson University will be eliminated from the Final Four race. The Blue Eagles are fourth in the standings with a 7-6 record, one game ahead of the fifth-place Soaring Falcons (6-7).
The Soaring Falcons are hoping for a De La Salle victory over Ateneo, as well as a victory against University of the East tomorrow (Sunday) at 2 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena to force a playoff for the No. 4 place.
Meanwhile, the 10-3 Green Archers have won seven of their past eight games and are in good shape not just to clinch a twice-to-beat bonus in the Final Four, but also to become the No. 1 team in the double-round eliminations.
If De La Salle defeats Ateneo, it will earn a spot in the Final Four. The Green Archers can finish as the top-ranked team in the elimination round if they finish tied for first place with the Fighting Maroons and the Bulldogs at 11-3, as the Taft-based cagers have the tiebreaker.
A loss to the Blue Eagles does not spell the end of the Green Archers’ quest for a twice-to-beat incentive, as De La Salle will need a UP win over NU to force a playoff for the No. 2 spot. A Bulldogs victory over the Fighting Maroons, on the other hand, will drop the Green Archers to third place in the Final Four.
The Long-Awaited Rivalry Match
Following their stunning triumph over the Green Archers, the Blue Eagles experienced a roller coaster journey, falling from a top contender to a middle-of-the-pack elimination round standings.
Following its first three-game losing streak in ten years, Ateneo won its last three games to remain in contention for the Final Four. “Rather than talk about peaking, I would go back to a theme that we’ve been talking about all year long and that’s growth,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
“This team, we could use another fifty games, because our growth curve is still nowhere near where it could ultimately go. It’s just gonna take a lot of time, a lot of training, a lot of games for this group which has been slow to gel,” he concluded.
“As I’ve said, I don’t think that I’ve mapped out the best strategy for them to gel going all the way back to January. We played too many pre-season games, we didn’t get enough concerted trainings. Hopefully we’re still growing, whcih is important. I don’t we will be peaking anytime soon,” he admits of the team.
Meanwhile, after successfully getting back on every first-round loss, Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson claimed that the squad is aiming to eliminate ‘revenge’ from their system and focuses more on being the better team every game.
“It shouldn’t define how were gonna approach this Saturday’s game. It should always be [us] doing our best, outworking the other team. I know there’s a lot of distraction coming in to this Saturday’s game,” Robinson comments following their triumph against the eliminated FEU.
“But it shouldn’t affect us, and make our circle solid that whatever challenge that we’re gonna face, we get to get better because after that, you play in the next playing date,” Robinson went on to say.
“We don’t want how we play on Saturday as a team define us. It will never be revenge, it is just that we want to compete against one of the best teams in the UAAP. Ayun ‘yung lagi naming iniisip everytime we play Ateneo, they are worthy rivals,” the Green Archers’ first-year head coach continued.
Meanwhile, at 2 p.m., Far Eastern University and the University of Santo Tomas will strive to finish their respective seasons on a high note. The Tamaraws will miss the Final Four for the second consecutive season following an eight-year streak, while the Growling Tigers will fail to advance past the first round for the third time in a row.
