Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Avenging its lone defeat may be enough motivation when University of Santo Tomas goes for a share of the No. 1 spot Saturday in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
Karim Abdul, UST’s big man, vowed there will be no repeat of the heartbreak, where National University pulled off a 55-54 escape that saw his counterpart Alfred Aroga nail a fadeaway shot in the closing seconds.
“That shot—it hurt me so much,” said Abdul. “I’m going to make sure he doesn’t do it again. We’re going to correct our mistakes, get ourselves ready.”
The Tigers target an eighth win versus the Bulldogs to get back on top with idle Far Eastern University at 8-1 in the 4 p.m. battle at Mall of Asia Arena.
Bulldogs coach Eric Altamirano agreed the Tigers has the upperhand over his defending champion side which remains out of the top four with a 3-5 slate.
“We’re on opposite poles,” said Altamirano. “They (Tigers) are playing really well. Their confidence is really high.”
Just like the Bulldogs, Ateneo hopes to get over the hump when it clashes with Adamson at 2 p.m.
The Blue Eagles slipped to fourth with a 4-4 card after dropping their last two assignments as Kiefer Ravena struggled in recent games.
Ateneo coach Bo Perasol, though, noted that other players have shown flashes of their potential like rookie Adrian Wong, who fired 14 points in the Eagles’ narrow loss to the Tamaraws, 66-61, last week.
“We’re proving gradually that we have good rookies,” said Perasol, who came under fire last week following a loss to La Salle. “(Jerie) Pingoy is starting to play well. Wong stepped up and he wasn’t even on the radar.”
For the Bulldogs, the goal is also to get more players involved.
“The others have to step up,” said Altamirano. “We have no legitimate center after Alfred, but we have to find a way to solve that.”