THE ROYAL BRAWL
Rivals Archers, Eagles begin dream match
Games today (MOA Arena) 11 a.m. – NU vs DLSU (women’s finals) 3:30 p.m. – DLSU vs AdMU (men’s finals)
It can’t get any grander than this: Rivals La Salle and Ateneo in a fistfight for the coveted UAAP LXXIX men’s basketball crown.
Green versus Blue. Top seed versus second seed. The dream match.
“It will be a game of who wants it more,” La Salle coach Aldin Ayo said ahead of today’s Game One at the MOA Arena.
The spirit and desire to win in the titular confrontation that’s been eight years in the making certainly won’t be wanting for the protagonists.
Ateneo last triumphed in 2012 while La Salle had its latest title romp in 2013 and the two didn’t figure in any of the finals the succeeding seasons until now.
The projected team-to-beat from the start with their veteran crew led by Jeron Teng and Kib Montalbo beefed up by prized recruits headed by Cameroonian MVP Ben Mbala, the Green Archers have essentially lived up to their top billing and bamboozled one opponent after another.
But there was actually one game where they looked like mortals. And the ones responsible for shattering their mask of invincibility were Ateneo’s overachieving youngsters who masterminded a stunning 83-71 reversal last Nov. 5.
“We’re the prohibitive underdogs in this tournament but we can take confidence from having beaten them once. At the same time, we know that was a (DLSU) team that was a little bit complacent, a team that’s on a 12game run, and it was also the team that had beaten us soundly before. So we know we’re not gonna see the same Green Archers in Game One,” said AdMU coach Tab Baldwin.
“But I think we have some momentum, some inspiration from the (Final Four) win (over Far Eastern) and we’re going to stand in front of them, we’re not gonna bow out of their way and we’re not gonna open the door for them. We’re gonna bloody them just like I’m sure they wanna bloody us,” he said.
Ayo said the stinging loss is motivation enough for the Taft-based crew.
“We’re doubly motivated because we felt they took something from us. Personally, I won’t ever forget Nov. 5,” said Ayo.
The Eagles had the erstwhile unbeaten Archers figured out on that fateful day.
Learning their lessons from the 8197 loss in the first round, the Ateneans turned up the knob on aggressiveness in the shaded lane, winning the rebounding battle, 48-43, posting more inside points, 50-34, and scoring more fast-break points, 16-10.
It didn’t get easier for DLSU from there.
After regaining traction with a 73-67 victory over FEU at the end of elims, the No. 1 Archers reported for action in the Final Four against No. 4 Adamson flat. They eventually survived what Ayo described as a “horrible” performance, winning, 69-64, to reach the finals.
“We’ve moved on from that game (semis) and the boys have made up in the succeeding practices,” said Ayo. “I’m very optimistic now having seen their body language, gestures. They’ve totally surrendered to the system now.”
DLSU and AdMU each have eight men’s basketball titles overall in the UAAP for joint fourth and this year’s victor will move one notch ahead of its rival in the table behind FEU (20), University of Santo Tomas (18) and University of the East (18).
Notes: Ateneo and La Salle’s supporters literally had to queue for precious tickets to the so-called “Dream Match.” This as the Mall of Asia Arena, the venue for the opener of the UAAP LXXIX men’s basketball final, announced it was doing away with the usual selling of tickets online or at various SM Tickets branches. “Selling will only be at the SM Tickets box office at MOA Arena Marina side only. (There will be) No selling online and to other SM Tickets branches,” SM Tickets and MOA Arena jointly announced Thursday. A two-ticket policy was also set for each buyer, some of whom waited in line as early as 6 a.m. at the opening of ticket-selling yesterday. Students, admin, faculty members and staff of both schools also queued up in designated areas on campus grounds.