By Jerome Lagunzad
Game Today
(The Arena, San Juan City
4 p.m. — Ateneo vs NU
(Game 2, Blue Eaglets lead 1-0)
Powerhouse Ateneo hopes to complete an impressive season sweep while National University tries to stay alive today in Game 2 of their best-of-three showdown for the UAAP juniors basketball title at The Arena in San Juan City.
The high-flying Blue Eaglets are determined to score a strong encore to an 86-70 victory in the opener over the weekend when promising center Kai Sotto stood tallest – literally and figuratively – above everyone else with a dominant showing.
The 7-foot Sotto proved to be the Goliath over the Bullpups’ collection of Davids as he banged in 22 points, 16 rebounds and 11 blocks in what turned out to be the first triple-double showing of a high school player in the finals in recent memory.
Ateneo is aiming to complete a perfect 16-0 title run and retain the coveted crown it last hoisted in 2015. But Blue Eaglets coach Joe Silva is bracing himself for what he believes as the “toughest thing to do.”
“Closing out a series, as always, is very difficult,” he told Tempo in a text message on the eve of their 4 p.m. encounter. “So we have to remain focused and hungry. We have been preparing for this since Season 79 ended (last year).”
Any victory by the Blue Eaglets, however, won’t be handed on a silver platter since the Bullpups have shown that they can stand toe-to-toe with their favored rivals the last time out.
Behind its rock-solid defense and accurate outside sniping, NU built a lead as high of 10 points early on and gave Ateneo all it could handle before settling for a 31-all count at the break.
But that proved to be the Bullpups’ last gallant stand as the Blue Eaglets buckled down to work, with Sotto serving as the main defensive anchor while the likes of SJ Belangel, Sean Ildefonso and Jason Credo scoring at will on the other end.
Silva knows his Bullpups counterpart Goldwin Monteverde is plotting a strong response behind his main aces, led by Batang Gilas standout Terrence Fortea, sparkplug Winderlich Coyoca, Matthew Manalang and big man Rhayyan Amsali.
