By Waylon Galvez
Games Today
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
2 p.m. – Ateneo vs NU
4 p.m. – FEU vs La Salle
Defending champion Ateneo tries to become the first team to secure a Final Four ticket as the Blue Eagles clash with the National University Bulldogs today in the 81st UAAP men’s basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Fresh from a big 90-70 victory against University of the East last Wednesday that extended its winning streak to three and gave Ateneo solo lead in the standings with an 8-2 card, the Tab Baldwin mentored squad is favored to repeat against NU in their 2 p.m. encounter.
De La Salle and Far Eastern University are set to face-off in the other crucial match at 4 p.m.
Ateneo downed NU in the first round 72-46 last Sept. 22, a game that saw the Eagles restrict the Bulldogs to just 27 percent shooting from the field, including 1-of-16 from three-point area.
Baldwin’s team is still unbeaten in the second round, and in the last three games, Ateneo has been terrific on defense and that is what the coaching staff expects from the players.
“We’ve got to play tough defense, the same way we did in our last three games,” Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga said. “We won our last three but still a lot of work to be done.”
NU, on the other hand, has won two of its last three games including a 69-61 win against University of Santo Tomas last Sunday that kept the Bulldogs in the race for a Final Four berth.
