Will Ateneo bow anew to Jose’s power?

ADAMSON is gone but not Far Eastern University (FEU). La Salle ended Adamson’s glorious run with just one blast of a win on Thursday to grab the first Finals ticket in Season 79 of the UAAP Basketball Championship.

But while pundits also expected Ateneo to reprise La Salle’s feat two days later, they were dead wrong.

Suddenly, the much-awaited AteneoLa Salle Finale is on hold—horribly.

And, if we go by what happened on Saturday, the duo’s Dream Date might just disappear to the consternation of everybody but the Morayta throng.

Just take a look at the Ateneo-FEU encounter on Saturday.

Ateneo ran into a brick wall defense and dropped a 62-61 shocker against FEU, sending the Tamaraws to a rubber match against the embattled Eagles on Wednesday.

The Eagles had appeared set to tear the Tamaraws apart after erecting a 10-point, 49-39 margin with under eight minutes left in the game.

But FEU, through the unbelievable Raymar Jose, rose from the rut almost magically.

Amazingly, the 6-foot-4 Jose had lusted not only for precious points but remarkable rebounds as well.

Horrifically, Jose just jumped the gun on every Eagle on the court, his lust for points overshadowed only by his rebounding power.

His savagery lasted almost game-long it gave you the impression he was the terminator reincarnate.

Jose was deadliest in the fourth quarter, where he grabbed 11 of his 23 gamehigh boards.

Who would have thought Jose would play that way?

Before Saturday’s no-more-tomorrow game for FEU, Jose was virtually a nondescript Tamaraw the last three years.

His superlative effort where he led all scorers with his 20 points led him to a huge double-double—his best performance ever since he got aboard at FEU in 2013.

“I don’t want an early vacation,” said Jose, referring to FEU’s outright ouster had the defending champion Tamaraws lost. “This is my last year and it is my wish to enter the Finals again.”

Definitely, the twice-to-beat Ateneo has its back against the wall on Wednesday, 4 p.m., at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

What must Ateneo do to get back at FEU and save face in the process?

Simple. Stop Jose, both by shackling his deadly left hand and out-boxing him out of the boards.

Easier said than done.