No. 1 Eagles seek repeat over Archers today

Even if Ateneo had everything going for them in the first round, the Blue Eagles know that keeping the No. 1 spot will be a challenge.

More so now as the Eagles start their second-round bid against surging rival La Salle today in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

“The second round is going to be as tough, or even tougher,” said Ateneo ace and MVP leader Kiefer Ravena. “We have to have the right mindset.”

The blockbuster clash between the top two teams fires off at 4 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Far Eastern U and National University, locked in a three-way tie with the Archers at 5-2, tangle at 11 a.m.

Tickets for today’s matches are sold separately.

The Eagles, who have also been drawing big games from Chris Newsome, Von Pessumal and rookie Arvin Tolentino, wrapped up the first round with a 6-1 record for the solo lead.

After an unexpected 0-2 start, the Archers got their title defense going with five straight victories to grab a share of the second spot.

The Archers, led by Jeron Teng and Jason Perkins, had to deal with a spate of injuries to their key men but found solid contributions from rookies Prince Rivero, Julian Sargent and Abu Tratter late in the first round.

“They were just up to the challenge,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler.

The Archers sustained their surge even with just nine players as key cogs Thomas Torres (fractured foot), Arnold Van Opstal (achilles) and Norbert Torres (finger injury) got sidelined along with Kib Montalbo (pulled calf muscle) and Terence Mustre (wrist injury).

For Sauler, it doesn’t matter who’s on the floor as long as the Archers learn from their first-round lapses.

“We have to improve on all aspects—shoot better, lessen our turnovers,” said Sauler. “Things like getting back on defense, limiting the turnover points given up—all those little things will help us.”

The Archers, though, must find ways to contain the explosive Ravena, who played hero many times over to lead the Eagles with league-best averages of 23 points and 5.1 assists on top of 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals.