Eagles seek finals vs Falcons
Ateneo tries to forge UAAP championship showdown with FEU
MANILA, Philippines–ATENEO HAS beaten Adamson in 27 straight games in the UAAP since 1997.
While the defending champion Blue Eagles won their last two games against the Falcons by a grand total of six points, Ateneo is determined to keep that streak going in a bid to nail the last UAAP men’s basketball championship berth today.
Game time is at 4 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum with the defending champion Eagles only needing to beat the Falcons once in this last Final Four series to arrange a title duel against the top-seeded Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
The Tamaraws claimed the first title slot after outlasting the fourth-ranked La Salle Green Archers, 69-59, in overtime in the first Final Four duel last Thursday.
Not a guarantee
“[The twice-to-beat bonus] is not always a guarantee that you’re going to make it to the championship, but it’s an easier road than being on the other side when you have to beat the other team twice,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.
“We’ve really had tough (elimination) games against Adamson (this season), both games could have gone either way,” added Black, who won Game 1 against Adamson at 69-66 then repeated the trick in Game 2 with a 55-52 decision.
Ateneo tries to make it a double victory as the Blue Eaglets gun for their third straight championship against the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs in Game 3 of the junior Finals at 11 a.m.
Tickets for each game are sold separately.
Momentum
The Eagles secured the second twice-to-beat advantage after wrapping up the eliminations with a 10-4 record.
And it’s a good incentive to have against the plucky Falcons, who posted their best elimination record at 9-5 to advance to the Final Four only for the second time in 17 seasons.
“I think our team has the momentum,” said Adamson coach Leo Austria. “I told my players that we just have to be consistent and we have to work on our end game.”
Ateneo’s veteran forward Nico Salva struggled for most of the season due to a broken finger, but shone in both matches against Adamson with double-double performances to backstop Kirk Long, Eric Salamat and Ryan Buenafe.
Organized team
“Ateneo is a very organized team,” said Austria. “They’re always prepared going into a game. But I think one motivation is we haven’t won against them for more than 10 years.”
Ateneo’s 27-game winning streak against Adamson is currently the longest in the league’s head-to-head matchups, just four games off the 31-game record La Salle holds over National University from 1986 to 2001.
The Falcons last won over the Eagles, 54-52, on Sept. 18, 1997.
In the junior battle, Kiefer Ravena hopes to lead the Blue Eaglets to their 17th overall title three days after firing 32 points in the defending champions’ 76-66 Game 2 triumph over the Tiger Cubs.
“This is going to be the hardest game for us, closing out the season,” said coach Jamike Jarin, whose Eaglets only need to win twice in the series as an incentive for sweeping the 14-game eliminations.
Juniors MVP Kevin Ferrer tries to bounce back from a dismal nine-point output after drilling 35 markers in the Tiger Cubs’ 77-71 triumph in the opener.
The Blue Eagles are on their record-tying 12th straight Final Four appearance, matching the feat set by La Salle from 1994 to 2005.
If the Blue Eagles wins today, the back-to-back champions will face the Tamaraws in the Finals for the first time since 2003 where FEU swept Ateneo at 2-0.
But an Adamson victory will forge a winner-take-all for the last title slot on Tuesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Good start
“I always remind our players that we should have a good start,” said Austria.
The best-of-three Finals will start on Sept. 25 also at the Big Dome.
If Ateneo closes out the juniors title series, the Blue Eaglets will record their first three-peat since winning four straight crowns from 1983 to 1986
“We expect UST to come out strong and prepared,” said Jarin. “We limited Ferrer’s points, but come Sunday, he’s going to be fresh and ready, so we also have to be ready for him.”
The Tiger Cubs, whose last crown came in 2001, must win two straight to bag the title. Photo by Celest Flores
