Eagles, Archers relive storied rivalry Saturday

MANILA, Philippines - The Ateneo Blue Eagles and De La Salle Green Archers will renew their historic rivalry for the first time in the 2011 Filoil Flying V Hanes Pre-Season Premier Cup this Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Gametime is at 4 p.m. and organizers said there are only a few tickets left for the game, even after they have sold dedicated tickets to La Salle and Ateneo fans, supporters and alumni.

This means that after the San Beda-University of Santo Tomas tiff slated at 12:30 p.m., the crowd will be asked to leave the arena and give way to ticket holders of the La Salle vs Ateneo match, who will be allowed to enter the arena starting at 3 p.m.

Ateneo, which sports a 5-1 card and is already assured of a spot in the quarterfinals in Group A, can afford to lose this one against La Salle, while the Archers need all the wins they can get to stay in the quarterfinal race.

The Archers are currently at sixth place and must sweep their last two elimination games to make it to the Final Eight of the tournament.

Historically though, a La Salle vs Ateneo game has always been intense, no matter what is at stake. So expect the Eagles and the Arches to hit the ground running right at the opening buzzer.

The Blue Eagles, who will be gunning for a third straight UAAP plum, have all the weapons at their disposal, and even got tougher with the acquisition of Kiefer Ravena and former Smart-Gilas mainstay Gregory Slaughter.

La Salle, meanwhile, is on a rebuilding mode, but remains dangerous with a combination of tested veterans in Joshua Webb, Joseph Marata, Papo Paredes, Jovit Mendoza and Almond Vosotros.