Defeathered Falcons, Eagles eye revenge
Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 2 p.m. – DLSU vs AdU 4 p.m. – FEU vs AdMU
Revenge at their first-round tormentors is tantalizing, for sure, but for joint leaders Adamson and Ateneo, the chance to stay on top and add more separation to the chase pack offers enough motivation to take care of business today in their UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball Round 2 faceoffs with La Salle and Far Eastern, respectively.
The Falcons (6-2) shoot for their seventh victory against the Green Archers (5-3) at 2 p.m. in the opener of an explosive doubleheader at the Smart Araneta Coliseum while the Thirdy Ravena-less Blue Eagles (6-2) seek the same versus the Arvin Tolentino-less Tams (5-3) at 4 p.m.
“It’s nice to hype that up (revenge) but basically, if we’re playing another school, it’s still a must-win for us because we have to maintain where we are right now,” said AdU coach Franz Pumaren, whose wards have regained their winning ways after back-toback losses to end the first round.
AdU meets DLSU exactly a week after dropping a 78-79 overtime loss to the Archers; so naturally, the wounds are still fresh on the Falcons’ part.
“Everybody’s itching to get even with them, which I guess is the good side. The downside, though, is we’re playing our third game in one week. But it will be an incentive for us (to beat DLSU). To do so, we have to be consistent, avoid lapses down the stretch,” said Pumaren.
The Archers are shooting for their third straight win and possibly a climb in the standings.
“Alam namin it’s an important game, kung sino ang manalo talagang malaking bagay sa standings,” said DLSU’s Louie Gonzalez. “We want to collect as many wins as we can regardless kung sino ang kalaban. Importante ang bawat laro.”
Meanwhile, the Eagles eye payback for their 60-63 setback to the Tams without Ravena, who serves his one-game suspension for the unsportsmanlike foul slapped on him by the Commissioner’s office following postgame review of his strike on University of the Philippines’ Paul Desiderio. It was his second infraction of the season, leading to the ban.
Health issues also bother the defending champions as Matt (finger) and Mike Nieto (sprain) are recovering from injuries and their status for this game remains a question mark.
“I’m sure the others will step up and the system will come into play,” said AdMU team manager Epok Quimpo.
“We have a philosophy in our team na next man up,” said Tyler Tio, who filled in for Matt Nieto last game.
The Tams similarly have big shoes to fill as top gunner Tolentino sits out the first of his two-game suspension for getting a disqualifying foul in their 70-78 loss to Santo Tomas last Sunday.