It took long enough but twins Matt and Mike Nieto were back in Ateneo’s lineup and the brothers’ choice of return also had a little bit of history behind it.
The two missed the Blue Eagles’ last four games due to a combination of injury and sickness but got back just in time to help the defending champions squash Adamson University, 62-48, in the second round of the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament Sunday at Ynares Center.
Ateneo only has two losses against 10 wins in the season and the first one was against the Soaring Falcons, who scored a 74-70 stunner in the opening weekend of Season 81.
“It’s good to really be back especially against Adamson,” said Matt, who fractured his left pinky in the in the early part of the Blue Eagles’ 82-62 win over Far Eastern University. “I got injured, I got sick, and I really wanted to return in the game against Adamson.”
Matt, who also had dengue on top of his fractured left pinky finger, said the loss to Adamson made a lasting mark on the team and it fueled them to take back what the Soaring Falcons took from them back in September.
“Whether I’m a hundred percent or not, I really wanted to play against Adamson because they took something from us and that became our motivation, our inspiration to face them,” said Matt, who finished with five points in 13 minutes.
As for Mike, who had three points in seven minutes, he’s aware that he and his twin brother are still not up to speed with their teammates but he looks forward to the one-week break between their games against Adamson and archrival De La Salle.
Mike, who sprained his sprained his left foot in practice, said they used the days before their game against the Green Archers to get back to tiptop shape.
“You can see that we don’t have the timing because it’s also been several weeks that we were not able to practice,” said Mike in Filipino. “We’ll get there, we just have to do some extra work and we have a whole week to prepare.”
“My timetable and Matt’s are just right,” added Mike.