Archers looking to stay alive
Game Today (Smart-Araneta Coliseum) 4 p.m. – La Salle vs Ateneo (Game 2) (Ateneo leads series 1-0)
Since coach Aldin Ayo took over last year, De La Salle has proven to be a resilient bunch especially when facing adversity as the Green Archers have not yet loss in back-to-back fashion.
With its title retention hopes on the line, La Salle could put this quality to the test when it takes on archrival Ateneo today in Game 2 of the UAAP Season 80 basketball finals at the SmartAraneta Coliseum.
Tip off is at 4 p.m., with the Green Archers out to bounce back from a 7670 loss in the series opener over the weekend and drag the Blue Eagles into a winner-take-all showdown on Sunday.
But Ateneo, aching to redeem the crown it last won in 2012 at the tailend of a ‘five-peat’ run under Norman Black, is also bent on not giving La Salle a lifeline, looking to return the favor of a two-game sweep it suffered in last year’s finals.
“They're the favorites, they’re the defending champs, and for sure they're gonna come out next game motivated. So we've got to come up with the mentality that we have to step up our game, and not be content,” said Blue Eagles assistant Sandy Arespacochaga.
Whether the Green Archers can regain lost ground will depend on the expected bounce-back performance from Ben Mbala, who was held to a careerlow eight points in seven attempts the last time out.
“Expect me to be more aggressive offensively,” vowed the 6-foot-7 Cameroonian, good for a league-best 26 points per game in the elimination round.
“Obviously if we lose the next game then it is over. We are not gonna go out there just to have a regular and mediocre game. We just have to go out there and win the game because if we don’t, we’ re gonna be out. And everything we’ve been doing throughout the season will just be gone to waste.”
One interesting thing that the Green Archers could get some inspiration from is the fact that they’ve been thriving well inside the Big Dome, having won their first eight matches.
In contrast, the Blue Eagles, invincible at the Mall of Asia Arena after winning all of their seven matches there, suffered their first two losses at the Cubao-based venue.
La Salle, however, needs more than that and veteran guard Kib Montalbo assured they won’t go down without a fight. “We’re the defending champions. I couldn’t consider myself as the underdog. It’s just two great teams battling it out in one hell of a series,” he said.