Ateneo’s Thirdy Ravena celebrates after his putback dunk late in the game against Adamson in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena. INQUIRER PHOTO/ Sherwin Vardeleon
Ateneo’s title defense started off in the wrong foot after losing its first game of the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament against Adamson University, 74-70, on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
READ: Adamson holds on to stun Ateneo
But the early setback, somehow, gave the Blue Eagles a reality check that the road to the championship won’t be as smooth as most people believe it would be for Ateneo, which turned heads in the offseason that included a Filoil preseason title, training camp in Greece and a fourth-place finish in the William Jones Cup in Taiwan.
READ: Ateneo ends impressive Jones Cup stint in 4th place
Their impressive offseason work put the Blue Eagles in an all too different altitude than the Soaring Falcons and Thirdy Ravena said the loss kept Ateneo grounded.
“This game put us back to the ground in terms of preparation and I’m not saying this in a cocky way but Adamson gave us another challenge for this season,” Ravena, who finished with seven points and three rebounds, told reporters.
Ateneo carried an immense amount of hype heading into the season after Far Eastern University coach Olsen Racela said he’d be “surprised” if the Eagles won’t sweep the elimination round.
READ: Racela says he’ll be surprised if Ateneo loses a game in elims
And yet the Soaring Falcons were able to quash Racela’s claim in just the second day of the tournament.
“Adamson really deserved to win, they came out really prepared and they deserve the credit and they deserve the win,” Ravena said.