La Salle sees ‘lowly’Ateneo tough as nails
a measly No. 6 to being a fierce finalist. That’s what Ateneo had become. Sixth of eight schools at the start. Now suddenly, a crown contender. Superb, to say the least. Ateneo capped its amazing run to the UAAP Finals by inflicting a 69-68 overtime win over Far East er n Universi t y.
That was last Wednesday. FEU’s loss ended the Tamaraws’ back-toback bid for the title now to be contested by Ateneo and La Salle starting today.
Ateneo’s Wednesday win was also sweet revenge as it was FEU that kicked the Eagles out of last year’s Finals, through a last-second three by now-professional Mac Belo.
It also left a bitter taste in FEU coach Nash Racela’s mouth as he will leave his team a dethroned champ. He is now officially the coach of TNT Katropa in the PBA.
“But I won’t define this stint [at FEU] on my last game,” said Racela, who absorbed the loss on his 45th birthday. “There’s always a positive on things like these.”
Racela’s painful exit was a result of Ron Dennison’s winning bank shot getting nullified. The referees, upon review of the replay, ruled the basket late by a tenth of a second.
Had Dennison’s shot beaten the buzzer, it would have put to naught Isaac Go’s Finals-clinching put-back for Ateneo earlier. Ah, this guy Go. At 6-foot-8 and having undergone the brutal process of peeling off 26 pounds from his old flabby self, is he now the answer to Ben Mbala, La Salle’s African man mountain?
Most likely, if we go by Go’s back-to-back games against FEU that saw him pluck doubledigit boards.
His 14th rebound on Wednesday keyed his game-winning put-back— bravely bucking a bloodied nose just seconds earlier on an accidental elbow from Prince Orizo, FEU’s bulky African. But overall, is Ateneo’s ascent accidental? Maybe, because considering that Ateneo’s four previous mainstays (Kiefer, Gotladera, Newsome and Pesumal) had graduated, the Eagles are suddenly in the Finals.
And ranged against a veteran-laden La Salle bench, Ateneo’s lineup is rookie-rich. Before Season 79 could blast off, seven Eagles had been sent packing home for academic deficiencies.
Is coach Tab Baldwin then the secret of the Eagle resurgence?
Again, maybe. But if Coach Aldin Ayo of La Salle has knees shaking uncontrollably now, no surprise there.
A giant slayer lurks.