Two-time defending champion Ateneo guns for a Final Four berth against archrival La Salle today in the UAAP men’s basketball competition at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Match is at 12 noon with the Blue Eagles seeking their 10th straight victory to preserve their unbeaten run.
More than that, it will serve as their ticket to the next round.
The Katipunan-based squad also aims to duplicate its 81-69 first-round triumph against the Archers last Sept. 8 and extend their mastery over La Salle to five games.
The last time the Archers won over the Eagles was in 2017’s Game 2 finals where they rallied from a 21-point deficit en route to a 47-37 win.
Despite the records, Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin is wary of La Salle, which is out to use its back-to-back wins, including a 85-61 triumph over National University a week ago that pushed them up in the middle standings at 4-4.
“They (La Salle) look like they’ve sort of found themselves a bit. They’ve got a couple of good wins under their belt,” he said. “They pushed themselves right up into the Top 4 contention and that’s where they wanna be.”
“I won’t expect anything but a great game and tough game.”
Thirdy Ravena and Ange Kouame are again expected to lead the Eagles along with SJ Belangel, Will Navarro and brothers Mike and Matt Nieto are also expected to fuel their attack.
La Salle, meanwhile, just wanted to ride the momentum of morale-boosting victories.
“We prepare more for what we have to do instead of who we’re going to play,” said La Salle coach Gian Nazario. “That’s gonna be our mantra for the rest of the season.”
La Salle’s Justine Baltazar should be a marked man after posting 25 points, 25 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in the team’s win over the Bulldogs.
Andrei Caracut and Jamie Malonzo are likewise expected to deliver for La Salle after combining for 28 points the last time.
In the other game, University of Santo Tomas aims to improve its 5-4 record when it faces Far Eastern University at 4 p.m.
The Tigers are coming off a 101-73 drubbing of University of the East anchored on Soulemane Chabi Yo, Zach Huang and Sherwin Concepcion, while the Tamaraws are still smarting from an 85-79 loss to NU four days back for 4-5.
Meanwhile, Adamson University went on a scoring spree in the final stretch as it turned back National University, 72-53, on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Trailing 47-44 late in the third, the Falcons uncorked a 28-6 blast spearheaded by Adrian Manlapaz to crush the Bulldogs and improve their tally to 4-6.
Manlapaz finished with 14 points as Adamson duplicated its 84-83 overtime win over NU and snapped its four-game losing streak. Jerrick Ahanmisi fired 15 points including three triples, while Jerom Lastimosa had 10 points, six boards, nine assists and four steals.
Only JV Gallego, Issa Gaye and Dave Ildefonso scored for NU in the fourth quarter as they skidded to 2-8. Ildefonso finished with 15 points while Gaye had 14 points and 10 boards.
(Kristel Satumbaga)
