Ateneo, DLSU coaches: Pressure part of rivalry

MANILA, Philippines – Norman Black said the hype cannot be avoided. Franz Pumaren called the pressure to win over his team’s archrival as “something his players were already born with". Welcome to the massive stage known as the Ateneo-De La Salle championship series. And along with the games—three in all if the title series goes the full route—come the pomp, the hype, and the you-can’t-lose-to-that-team type of pressure that all exist inside and outside the Big Dome hardwood. But both coaches admitted they’ve gotten used to the electric—or sometimes, blown-up—mood the biggest rivalry in all of Philippine basketball brings. “[The rivalry] is all part of our history. It’s part of the tradition of both schools and you can’t be part of either teams if you do not recognize it," La Salle’s Pumaren said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association forum held Tuesday at the Shakey’s UN Avenue. Ateneo’s Black, who is in his second UAAP finals and first against school rival La Salle, said taking his players’ attention away from the distractions hasn’t been a problem. Or sort of. “When we’re together as a team, it’s easier to manage the pressure, the hype. But when they’re already out there on their own, it’s a different story. [The hype] is something you can’t avoid. You just have to deal with it," Black said. This won’t be the first time Black’s Eagles and Pumaren’s Archers are facing in the postseason. In his first season on Ateneo’s bench in 2005, Black lost to Pumaren 74-57 in a one-game semifinal. In 2007, Black’s Eagles were poised to upset the higher-seeded Archers after they won 65-64 in the first game of a stepladder playoff. But Pumaren’s Archers came back the next game to win 65-60 and advance to the finals. Although he has been a college coach for only four seasons, Black has won multiple championships on the professional level. His best season with Ateneo was in his second year in 2006 when Black led the Eagles to the finals. Ateneo lost the series 2-1 to UST. Black said his team, which owns a league-best 14-1 record including a one-sided victory in the semis Sunday, has never wavered on its focus throughout the tournament. “Winning the championship is the goal. As long as we keep that in mind, we’ll be okay," Black said. Since Black assumed coaching duties for Ateneo, the Eagles are 4-2 head-to-head versus the Archers in the elimination round, including posting 2-0 sweeps last year and this year. “Franz and I have seen a lot of each other dating back to the summer leagues up to this point," Black said. “There are only a few secrets between us now." In his 11th season as La Salle’s head coach, Pumaren has seen the Archers pitted against different rivals—against University of Santo Tomas in the late-1990s and then Far Eastern University early in this decade. When Pumaren’s younger brother Dindo began to coach University of the East, a La Salle-UE rivalry was also being built up. But none of those marquee match-ups could compare to the animosity between Ateneo and La Salle, one which has been heightened in recent seasons because of the championship-caliber rosters both schools have been generating. Pumaren spoke as if he thrived under the Blue-Green atmosphere. “Everybody is born to be pressured. It’s something you have to live with everyday." “I read in one paper that tickets were sold out in less than half a day," Pumaren said. “The interest in the championship series is definitely good for the league and it’s good for basketball all in all." – GMANews.TV