Undefeated Ateneo will take on Letran in the quarterfinal round of the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup this Thursday.
The Eagles will plunge into the 7 p.m. main match at Filoil Flying V Centre barely 24 hours after arriving from its European training camp.
They will be led by rookie center Angelo Kouame and senior Thirdy Ravena, who are averaging double digits in scoring with 12.8 and 10.8, respectively.
The Knights, who ended the elimination round with a 5-4 card, will have a veteran-laden crew led by Bong Quinto, JP Calvo, Jerick Balanza, and Christian Balagasay, all members of the Letran squad that won the NCAA seniors crown three years ago.
Head coach Jeff Napa will also have at his disposal other veterans like Larry Muyang, Christian Fajarito, Bonbon Batiller and Fran Yu.
EJ Agbong, out of Chiang Kai Shek College, is the only rookie with a significant playing time of 10 minutes a game.
If Ateneo won’t be bothered by jet lag or lack of sleep, they will have their stamina to contend with as they dispute a seat in the semifinal round that will be played the following day.
Other quarterfinal matches on Thursday are University of the Philippines against College of St. Benilde at 1 p.m., San Beda College versus Adamson University at 2:45 p.m. and La Salle against Far Eastern U at 4 p.m.
The reigning NCAA champion San Beda will bank anew on Javee Mocon and Robert Bolick. Another key player is Filipino-Canadian James Canlas, who is scoring 9 points per outing behind Donald Tankoua’s 9.7.
The finals will be played on Saturday at 6 p.m.