Eagles, Archers dispute who’s who in UAAP ball

Games today (MOA Arena)

11 a.m. – UP vs AdU

4 p.m. – DLSU vs AdMU

MANILA, Philippines - College basketball’s most storied rivalry explodes today as Ateneo and La Salle mix it up for the first time in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tourney at the MOA Arena, each looking to end the first round on a fiery note and cement its place in the upper rungs of the standings.

The Blue Eagles (4-2), fresh from a 56-43 spanking of University of the Philippines, and the Green Archers (3-3), reeling from a 61-77 setback to co-leader Santo Tomas, tangle at 4 p.m. with the winner taking third spot at the midpoint of the elims.

The match is expected to draw a sea of blue and green and a lot of fireworks as with previous AdMU-DLSU encounters.

“It’s going to be a big game as far as the two teams’ rivalry is concerned. But again, I keep emphasizing to the boys that this is just one game. It’s a matter of getting a win or a loss. So we’re going to prepare as hard as we’re preparing for any team,” said AdMU coach Bo Perasol.

Ateneo skipper Kiefer Ravena hopes his young teammates can handle the high pressure of an outing against DLSU.

“We’ll do our best. Hopefully the rookies won’t get carried away by the crowd and atmosphere of an Ateneo-La Salle game,” he said.

Archers coach Juno Sauler said the primary concern is to put the cuffs not only on Ravena and another veteran Von Pessumal but also on the Eagles’ support crew.

“We have to stop their main guys and at the same time, make sure their other role players won’t be able to shoot the lights out, like what happened in our last game against UST,” said Sauler.

The DLSU coach remembered how UST’s subs Kyle Suarez and Louie Vigil and role player Mario Bonleon burned his wards with their three-point shooting.

“We also need to make our shots and on the defensive end, keep challenging the shots of the opposing team,” he said, noting that DLSU only shot 33.33 percent against UST, which was lower than the Tigers’ 45 percent accuracy from rainbow territory.

Meanwhile, two skidding squads – University of the Philippines (2-4) and Adamson University (0-6) – renew their own “rivalry” at 11 a.m.

The Maroons and the Falcons played two intense matches last season in a battle for pride between the bottom dwellers and today’s matchup is projected to be as fierce.

UP has lost four straight after a 2-0 start and although the Falcons remain winless, they have shown stern stuff in their last game against co-leader Far Eastern, losing steam only in the stretch  in a 60-64 loss.