MANILA, Philippines?By now, everything that could possibly be said about the country?s most passionate basketball rivalry has already been said.
The personalities from both defending champion La Salle and elimination round topnotcher Ateneo have filled hectares of newsprint with their thoughts on the best-of-three championship series for the UAAP men?s basketball crown.
The anticipation has been over-the-top, the angles bled dry: The defending champion versus the title favorite. The Grand Slam professional coach versus the most decorated collegiate mentor. The top seed versus the most successful squad of the past decade. Green versus Blue.
Enough with the words. It?s time the two varsity squads get it on.
Game 1 kicks off at the storied Araneta Coliseum, which will be the home of the most celebrated championship series this year, with La Salle and Ateneo hoping to get a headstart at the 4 p.m. match today.
As rivalry and rich history again collide, Game 1 will put an end to the basketball buzz no other varsity match up can generate. Game 1 will kick off the action
Because after all that talk, the only thing important for Ateneo coach Norman Black and La Salle strategist Franz Pumaren is that their teams take a step closer to the title.
?Our goal is not completed yet,? said Black after his Eagles marched into the championship round with a 14-1 record. ?We set a goal from the beginning of the year to win the championship. Whatever it takes, we?ll get it done.?
But if there?s one team that has shown many times over how to get a high-stake game done, it?s definitely the Archers, who own half of the league?s crowns in the last 10 years.
?We?re used to this kind of situation?preparing for the Finals,? said Pumaren.
?I think we?re right on track. I?ve been pacing my players. But based on my experience in playing in the Finals, it will take a collective effort from all the players to win the championship. Down the road, it?s the poise and execution that will help us in the coming series.?
Bodyguards
On the eve of the first game, drama and controversy continued to stalk the rivalry as the family of Ateneo star Chris Tiu has reportedly hired bodyguards to look after the safety of their son, a reliable source told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Saturday.
The decision, a source close to the family said, was reached after several unidentified people reportedly tried to approach Tiu in several instances.
The source did not elaborate on who the people were and what they wanted, but said they started stalking Tiu early last week. The source said the Tiu family did not want a repeat of the Mac Baracael case.
Baracael, a standout with the FEU Tamaraws, survived a shooting incident recently, where he was shot by a lone assailant in a case widely believed to have links to a game-fixing syndicate.
The Eagles swept the Archers this season with a 79-73 tripping in the first round, followed by a 65-57 validation victory in the second.
But of course, both squads know that precedents hardly matter in every Ateneo-La Salle duel.
?The concern with playing La Salle for me is worrying about their conditioning,? said Black. ?We always consider La Salle as one of the best conditioned teams in the league.?
Pumaren, on the other hand, stressed that the Archers are bracing for a tough series against a team better than them on paper.
?Making it to the Finals is already a difficult task, so playing against the number one team will be a harder job for us,? said Pumaren. ?If you?re going to look at Ateneo?s lineup, they?re a deep and complete team.?
Bearing the title hopes of their basketball-mad schools are the Ateneo?s Chris Tiu, Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao and La Salle?s JV Casio and Rico Maierhofer and James Mangahas.
