Blue Eagles tipped to win UAAP plum

Whether they like it or not, the Blue Eagles are favored to win this year’s crown.

“They are playing the best basketball among the four teams in the Final Four,” said Tonichi Yturri, an assistant coach at La Salle, during yesterday’s Scoop Sa Kamayan sports forum.

La Salle is also in the Final Four, ranked No. 2 behind Ateneo. The two others in the semis are No. 3 Far Eastern University and No. 4 University of the East.

The Final Four starts tomorrow with Ateneo facing UE, and La Salle taking on FEU. The Blue Eagles and the Green Archers enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage.

Yturri graced the forum in the absence of head coach Franz Pumaren, and frankly said that Ateneo’s big man, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, will pose as the biggest problem against the other teams.

‘Rabeh has become a player that you have to think of a lot,” said Yturri of the 19-year-old, 6-foot-6 center who has shown tremendous improvement this year.

His scoring output this year alone has eclipsed his total in his first three years with Ateneo, and now he’s in the running for the coveted MVP crown.

Al-Hussaini, however, said the MVP title would mean nothing if they don’t bring home the UAAP crown.

FEU coach Glenn Capacio also pointed to Al-Hussaini as Ateneo’s main weapon, of course along with Chris Tiu, the team’s heart and soul.

“Ateneo’s advantage is with the big men. We have to double Rabeh, but they have the shooters, too. So we’re going to have a hard time,” said Capacio.

However, the only time he will have to think about Ateneo is if they get past La Salle in their Final Four showdown.

Bong Ravena, the assistant coach of UE, said the best way to beat Ateneo is for the Red Warriors to value each possession.

“The way I see it, they play smart basketball,” he said. “Rabeh and Chris Tiu are smart kids. We need to value every possession as much as possible.”

Ateneo coach Norman Black refused to get carried away, although he admitted that size will be the biggest factor going in his search for a first crown in the UAAP.

Ateneo last won the title in 2002 under a different coach, Joel Banal. Black carried the Blue Eagles to the 2006 finals where they lost to the UST Tigers.

“I think size has been our biggest advantage so far. The teams started to respond by double teaming our big guys like Rabeh and try to stop him which opens it up for other players,” Black said.

But he said they’re ready even if they’re coming off a one-week rest.

“We got our rhythm down as far as practices are concern to make sure we keep our guys as fresh as possible before the game. Whether it will affect us or not, we will see. But I don’t think it will,” he said. – Abac Cordero