Archers, UST Tigers get a breather

MANILA, Philippines - Unmindful of the NBA mania gripping the country, coaches Juno Sauler of La Salle and Pido Jarencio of University of Santo Tomas are getting their respective wards prepped and psyched up heading to their sudden death for the coveted UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball crown on Saturday.

The two agreed that everything will boil down to mental toughness, thus the importance of steering clear from all possible distractions.

“Para sa amin, more on preparations and adjustment, kung paano namin ma-stop yung bigs nila. And more on mental, sa isip na lang ng players kung sino ang mas may gusto (It’s a matter of preparations and making adjustments. I think it’s really about how tough the players will be mentally and how much they want it),” said Jarencio during yesterday’s PSA Forum at the PSC Conference Room.

“I agree with coach Pido, big factor dito will be preparations in the next coming days and going to Saturday’s game, everything’s mental. Whoever performs better and is probably mentally tougher, will end up victorious on Saturday,” said Sauler.

One of the things that Jarencio’s Tigers have to work on during the weeklong lull is how to figure out a way to stay out of foul woes. In Game Two, big men Karim Abdul and Paulo Pe got into early foul trouble, a situation that the Archers were quick to pounce on.

Unlike Abdul who hit at officiating, Jarencio wouldn’t want to dispute the calls anymore. “Judgment calls yun, tinawag na, wala na tayong magagawa dun. Siguro ingat na lang, limit namin fouls namin (Those were judgment calls. Maybe what we can do is adjust to the referees and stay away from foul trouble, limit our fouls),” he said.

The finals protagonists are living up to excitement of their classic titular meetings in the 1990s, going the full distance for the fourth time in their fifth head-to-head encounter.

The Archers pulled off a 77-70 win in last Saturday’s Game Two to pull even after the Tigers took the opener, 73-72.

“I don’t know if there’s some momentum on our side but what we just focus on is the game on Saturday. Momentum or no momentum, it will take preparation and mental toughness and that will make the difference this Saturday,” said Sauler.

“For me, walang momentum-momentum dito, ibig sabihin, winner-take-all ito, parehas na lang (Momentum is no longer a factor in this winner-take-all. It’s more on preparation, yung mental toughness saka kung sino yung mas gusto manalo (which one is mentally tough and wants it more),” said Jarencio.