La Salle goes for the kill

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Throughout his team’s dominant run in the men’s basketball tournament, La Salle coach Aldin Ayo chose to downplay each victory—always finding chinks in the Archers’ game in UAAP Season 79.

The rookie coach felt that validation for his star-studded squad—and his high-profile move away from Letran—will only come with a championship for the Taft-based school.

Those sleepless nights worrying about opponents, long hours at the gym, battles with self-doubt and the burden of expectation could end with a long-cherished prize for Ayo and his Archers today.

With momentum on their side after an impressive escape act in the series opener, the Archers get the first of two cracks at the UAAP crown against fierce rival Ateneo Blue Eagles at 3:30 p.m. to in Game 2 of their title duel at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“The pressure is big,” said Ayo, who moved to La Salle just weeks after steering Letran to the NCAA title. “It was always more of relief to me every time we won this season.”

Maybe Ayo can get a proper celebration tonight, but a tough and resilient Ateneo team stands in the Archers’ way of a ninth league crown and second title in four years.

The Eagles gave the Archers all that they can handle, before yielding, 67-65. Ateneo fought back from an early 15-point deficit to take a 65-64 lead only for Jeron Teng to bail out the Archers, who also needed a big game from Ben Mbala (20 points and 15 rebounds).

“This is going to be a special game because, personally, I’m trying to give La Salle a championship in my final year,” said Teng. “I need to do whatever it takes, same with the whole team.”

Ayo hopes to squeeze better performances from the rest of his squad, not just from Mbala and Teng.

“I still need other players to step up for us to get over the hump,” said Ayo, whose team has won all but one of their 16 games this season to move on the cusp of the crown.

“I expect the 15 guys on the team to perform. I don’t want to predict, but we will do our best.”

Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin said his team can’t afford to start out flat again against the explosive Archers, who raced to a 17-2 lead in Game 1.

And just like what it had done all season, an Ateneo team built around second and third-year players must absorb lessons from the series opener on the fly to force a Game 3 on Saturday.

The Eagles bungled two chances to snatch the series lead, with Thirdy Ravena losing possession to Kib Montalbo—a turnover that led to Teng’s go-ahead basket with 15.6 seconds left.

A potential game-tying jumper by Aaron Black was also deflected by Teng in Ateneo’s final possession.

“They’re not great basketball players yet,” said Baldwin of his team. “They have a lot to learn. They’re hardworking kids. They’re trying to learn the game and we’re getting phenomenal lessons in a game like this. But it isn’t about lessons right now. It’s about standing up to the challenge and becoming champions.”