After fifty-six games through two rounds, only four teams remain in the tough battle to get to the UAAP Season 79 finals.
La Salle (13-1) and Ateneo (10-4) both own a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals against their respective opponents Adamson (8-6) and Far Eastern University (9-5), and the duels are expected to be nothing less than spectacular.
Dominant all season long, the Green Archers saw their dreams of a season sweep cut by a shock defeat to rival Blue Eagles.
The momentary hiccup, though, didn’t deter coach Aldin Ayo and his boys as they go to the playoffs knowing they own the Soaring Falcons’ number this season.
La Salle first brought Adamson back to the ground with a 91-75 victory on September 24 in what coach Franz Pumaren regarded as his wards’ “worst game of the season.”
The Falcons made it closer in their second meeting, but it still ended the same way with the Green Archers on top, 86-79, last October 9.
Ben Mbala was mighty on both games—as he has been all year long—averaging 19.5 points and 13.0 rebounds against the Falcons. But what made the difference is the support he got in the two outings.
Jeron Teng and Aljun Melecio contributed big in the first round rout, while Ricci Rivero and Kib Montalbo backed up the towering Cameroonian, proving the depth to this La Salle crew.
Pumaren knows what they’re up against, and he needs more from his leaders Papi Sarr, Jerrick Ahanmisi, and Robbie Manalang to deal the Green Archers only their second defeat of the season.
In the other matchup, Ateneo shocked everyone after snaring the two-seed.
A six-game winning streak to end the eliminations did that, and coach Tab Baldwin could attribute his team’s success to the next man up-mentality he fostered with the Blue Eagles, with Thirdy Ravena, Aaron Black, and Isaac Go providing leadership for this young crew.
Heading into the Final Four, the Blue Eagles have the advantage having swept their season series against FEU, one of the elite contenders going to this season.
Ateneo first pulled off a shocker on September 14, edging the Tamaraws, 76-71, then followed it up with a convincing 74-59 win on November 9 where it led by as much as 23 points.
That latest loss to Ateneo was part of the Tamaraws’ three-game losing skid i
n the homestretch of the elimination round. FEU ended the streak with a win over University of the East, but only after a furious fourth-quarter rally.
Raymar Jose, Monbert Arong, and Prince Orizu are expected to step up to show the Tamaraws’ late season struggles was nothing but a fluke, but Racela knows it would take more than that from FEU to stop what was regarded as a “dream match” between the top two seeds.