INQUIRER Sports

WHEN ATENEO starts its bid to keep the UAAP men?s basketball championship, the last thing the Blue Eagles want to do is belittle the capabilities of the University of the East Warriors.

?We have beaten UE twice during the elimination round, so we definitely have the psychological advantage,? said Ateneo coach Norman Black.

?But of course, it will be a different story in the Finals. They?re a veteran crew so we?re expecting a tough Game 1.?

Even after a long layoff, the Blue Eagles remain favored over the Warriors at the start of their best-of-three title series at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Both squads dismissed talks of rust in their game after the league postponed the series opener originally slated last Sunday due to Tropical Storm ?Ondoy.?

?We?re going into the game with a lot of confidence, we?re going there to win,? said Black.

?As a coach personally, it?s all for my players. I?ve had my successes as a player already, I?ve had a lot of successes as a coach. But every time you coach a group of guys who believe in what you?re trying to execute, then you want to win with them.?

The Blue Eagles?who last saw action on Sept. 20 in a clinical 81-64 dismantling of the University of Santo Tomas in the Final Four?aim to duplicate the back-to-back title feat the school last accomplished in 1987 and 1988.

But UE mentor Lawrence Chongson said his Warriors are similarly fired up and have the focus and hunger needed to end the school?s
24-year title drought.

?We know they are tipped to win, but this is a chance of a lifetime so we can?t be contented of just making it to the Finals,? said Chongson.
The third-ranked Warriors had a tougher path to the Finals unlike the Eagles, who ruled the roost from Day 1 before wrapping up the elimination round with a 13-1 record.

Led by Paul Lee, however, the Warriors climbed to third place at 10-4, then overcame the twice-to-beat semifinal advantage of tournament favorite Far Eastern University.

The Warriors ousted the second-seeded Tamaraws with a 78-72 upset last Sept. 24, five days after forcing a semifinal rubber match with an 84-74 triumph.
?Most of the UE players are good on one-on-one offensive players,? Ateneo assistant Sandy Arespacochaga added.

The two schools last met in the Finals in 1987, the season that kicked off the Blue Eagles? first back-to-back title romp.