Needing a win to calm down

THIS weekend’s La Salle-Ateneo duel plays out in a pressure-cooker context where a win could be definitive of how each team’s season will go.

The pundits can say it’s still early in the season but with only 14 games to play and a ruggedly competitive field that isn’t easy to roll over, each game is vital for the survival of any one of the two bitter rivals.

The UAAP Final Four race is an unforgiving format where teams that do not play well early are punished with more do-or-die games to handle in the homestretch.

The college schedule is not like a pro season where a team could play itself into shape and hope to catch the last bus to the playoffs. Quite often that ride is hard to book if another team already has more wins ahead of you.

Currently at 1-1, La Salle will go flat out for a win, whether it’s an emphatic one or via a cardiac affair. With the build-up they’ve done in the preseason and the dramatic coaching change where Gee Abanilla got boxed out and sent back to the PBA, a victory against their arch rival will settle down the team and bring out more of the potential the squad actually has.

La Salle has good size but its bigs have to develop better low-post moves rather than just rely on follow-up thrusts.

Against UST, La Salle played tense but still managed to stage a late-game rally to force an extension. The Taft Avenue squad just couldn’t get the baskets they needed to ice the game. The Green Archers are looking for a big scorer who can get them out of trouble or back into the game with timely baskets.

At 0-2, Ateneo is now in unfamiliar territory that was not unexpected given its personnel losses. Still, it is an Eagle squad in unchartered skies because the injury to Kiefer Ravena was unforeseen.

Ravena has often pointed out that he is not the core of the team but the last two games where he was unavailable at full strength, revealed his value even more.

Ateneo needs a win to break out of a slump it is unaccustomed to and relieve some of the pressure off new coach Bo Perasol. The Blue Eagles played better against FEU but could not nail the big shots they usually got before from Ravena, Nico Salva or Greg Slaughter.

A win will also calm down the team and give it confidence for the rest of its schedule.

The Big Dome will again be filled to the rafters with loyal Green and Blue students, faculty and alumni cheering their lungs out.  Many who don’t get tickets will opt for their own UAAP parties at homes or restaurants. Fans who didn’t go to any of the two schools will try to get tickets but will be quite content cheering in front of their TV sets.

Interestingly enough, the rest of the UAAP field is hoping that neither of the two schools gets going so that their assault on Ateneo’s crown can proceed. And if there’s a season they can do it, this could be the best chance.