by Waylon Galvez
Game Today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
3:30 p.m. – Adamson vs UP
One team is aiming to make it back to the finals after 26 years, while the other hopes to end an even longer skid of 32 years.
Either way, there will be a heartbreak and prayer answered before night falls today.
University of the Philippines and Adamson clash for the right to challenge defending champion Ateneo for the championship in a do-or-die semifinal encounter the in 81st UAAP men’s basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Diehards from both teams – players, alumni and students – will troop to the venue for the 3:30 p.m. match, with the winner advancing to the best-of-three finals against Ateneo.
The Blue Eagles swooped ahead to the series by crushing the Far Eastern University Tamaraws 80-61 last Sunday at the Big Dome.
Game 1 of the championship is Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
UP kept alive its title aspirations following a 73-71 victory over twice-to-beat Adamson on a last-second shot by Nigerian center Bright Akhuetie last Saturday at the MOA Arena. The Falcons, meantime, get a second chance at making it to the finals for the first time since 1992.
That season, twice-to-beat Adamson – led by Kenneth Duremdes and Marlou Aquino – lost to Johnny Abarrientos-directed FEU despite a twice-to-beat advantage.
This time, Adamson head coach Franz Pumaren has the 1-2 punch of Sean Manganti and Jerrick Ahanmisi, plus Cameroonian center Papi Sarr, to slay the ghost of their predecessors’ meltdown.
“We’re definitely excited to play UP,” said Pumaren, a champion mentor for De La Salle who has steered the Falcons to their third straight stint in the Final Four this year.
“We know it’s not going to be easy like the previous game, but we did all we needed to do to compete against UP by making the necessary adjustments. It’s all about execution on offense and playing defense,” added Pumaren.
Third seeded UP, on the other hand, is aiming to make it to the finals for the first time since winning the UAAP championship in 1986 under coach Joe Lipa, and players Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, Eric Altamirano, Joey Guanio and the late Ramil Cruz.
The school’s first UAAP title came in 1939 during the league’s second season when it shared the title with University of Santo Tomas and FEU.
