Ateneo hopes to keep La Salle blue in UAAP 2nd round

Will Ateneo repeat over La Salle and complete a Blue and White sweep this season or will the Archers bounce back and avenge their first round loss to the Eagles.

All these questions will be known on Sunday when the team from Katipunan clashes with the Taft-based squad in this season’s sequel in one of collegiate basketball's epic rivalry.

The Blue Eagles, led by its seasoned players, notched their seventh win last Thursday dealing University of the East an 80-75 defeat to start their second round campaign in the 72nd UAAP men’s basketball tournament with a win.

That victory put Ateneo back on top of the eight-team standings with a 7-1 won-lost slate.

Host Far Eastern University, considered as the biggest stumbling block in the Blue Eagles’ title defense bid, joined Ateneo on top with a 75-67 win over University of Santo Tomas in Saturday’s second game.

In contrast, a fumbling La Salle team succumbed to a more steadier Adamson U Falcons, 61-55, to absorb their fourth defeat also last Thursday at the Big Dome and the Green Archers fell to a two -way tie with the UE Red Warriors for fourth to fifth spots.

However, Ateneo coach Norman Black is not at all convinced that their recent win will be a factor on Sunday.

"With my experience as a coach here in the UAAP, I don't think our win (Thursday) will have any impact when we met La Salle on Sunday," said Black.

"Different match-ups create different results," Black added. "So on Sunday, we will see how we match-up against De La Salle. The result will actually depend on the adjustments before and during the match."

During their first encounter last Sunday, Ateneo scored a 76-72 overtime win over La Salle showing more finesse under pressure compared to the Green Archers’ rookie-filled line-up.

While Ateneo kept their composure during that match, La Salle lost their momentum giving up non-essential fouls and attempting low average shots that boosted the Eagles’ confidence.

In fact, when the Archers absorbed a stinging 61-55 defeat against Adamson last Thursday, the Green Archers’ veterans were even overshadowed by the Falcons’ starting unit.

In that match, only James Mangahas scored in double figures while Peejay Barua, Joseph Tolentino and Bader Malabes, although contributing to the Archers’ defense, had mediocre performances.

While the Archers were groping for form in their last two games, the Eagles were playing with more intensity as shown by the 30-point performance of Ateneo slotman Rabeh Al-Hussaini against UE.

Hussaini posted those numbers even though he was the focus of UE's defense.

"'Di lang dalawa, minsan tatlo pa bantay ko," noted Al-Hussaini.

Al-Hussaini was well supported by teammates Nico Salva and Jai Reyes in their offensive thrust while fellow Blue Eagles put in decent numbers to help Ateneo outlast the Red Warriors, who went on fourth quarter scoring rampage.

Black is probably right, La Salle can only avenge their first round defeat if the Archers can play 40 minutes of basketball, sans the rookie mistakes even the most veterans among the DLSU players are committing.

In another match set at 12 noon, Adamson goes for its third win against slumping UE Red Warriors. – Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV