MANILA, Philippines — Riding on a second chance, Ateneo and Far Eastern University hope that everything will click this time in their bid to nail championship berths in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
The No. 1 Blue Eagles, whose twice-to-beat edge gave them another crack at the Finals, know they need to play near perfect on both ends to take down fourth-ranked National University in their do-or-die semifinal match at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
As the No. 2 seed, the Tamaraws also expect their key players to rebound versus defending champion La Salle in the other knockout Final Four battle at 6 p.m.
“Our offense was better than in our last four games against them (Bulldogs),” Ateneo coach Bo Perasol said of his Eagles, who haven’t won over the Bulldogs in five meetings since last season.
“We were able to make adjustments and make the shots we wanted to make. It’s just that bottomline—we weren’t able to defend against them.”
The Bulldogs came out firing early to erect double-digit leads, before surviving the Eagles’ late rally behind MVP Kiefer Ravena to prevail, 78-74, last Wednesday and forge a winner-take-all encounter.
“This team, you never know who’s going to step up,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano after the Bulldogs leaned on a hot-shooting Jay Alejandro for the win.
NU also vies to sustain its winning form in women’s action when the unbeaten Lady Bulldogs clash with the Lady Tamaraws in Game 1 of the Finals at 11 a.m.
The Lady Bulldogs swept the eliminations and hold a thrice-to-beat edge over the Lady Tamaraws, the No. 4 seed who incredibly crashed the title round after a string of upsets in the stepladder semifinals.
With Jeron Teng back in his take-charge form, the Archers whipped the Tamaraws, 94-73, last Saturday to keep their back-to-back title hopes alive.
Teng, fully recovered from a bout with mild dengue, also drew big help from Almond Vosotros, Norbert Torres and Julian Sargent, the Fil-Am rookie who sparked the Archers’ breakaway in the first period.
“It takes team effort,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler. “We can’t rely on just two or three players. Even the role players have to step up.”
That’s what FEU coach Nash Racela expects from his Tamaraws as well after Mac Belo exploded for a career-high 32 points but the rest had little contribution in the semifinal loss.
Mike Tolomia wound up with just seven points, unlike in the Tamaraws’ three previous triumphs over the Archers this season where the standout FEU guard sizzled with team-high numbers.
“I think [Tolomia] struggled because they (Archers) really made it hard for him,” said Racela.
But the Archers wouldn’t make it any easier for the Tamaraws.
“We have to solve Belo for Wednesday,” said Sauler.