MANILA, Philippines—Euphoric and historic.
That’s how it will be for the team that hoists this season’s top prize.
A championship and a spot in the record books are at stake for both Far Eastern University and Ateneo when the two top seeds fight for the 73rd UAAP men’s basketball crown.
If one more hardware fills up FEU’s already decorated gym, the Tamaraws will emerge as the most successful varsity squad in the league with a record of 20 basketball titles.
“We know it won’t be easy,” said FEU coach Glenn Capacio. “We have to work hard for it. We have to give all our heart in this championship series.”
The Tamaraws, one of the four pioneering teams in the league, are currently tied on top with the University of Santo Tomas Tigers with 19 titles.
A third straight championship will be historic as well for the Blue Eagles as the feat will mark Ateneo’s first three-peat since joining the league in 1978.
“I don’t have a problem with the focus and concentration of the players because we have the experience, we’ve been here before, we know how it feels like,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.
Another title run will put the Blue Eagles among the ranks of FEU, UST, La Salle and University of the East as the only teams to dominate the league for at least three consecutive seasons.
The Tamaraws, who lorded it over from Day 1, are tipped as the slight favorite in the series predicted to go the distance.
The Tamaraws’ loaded roster—led by Most Valuable Player RR Garcia, veterans Aldrech Ramos and Reil Cervantes and Rookie of the Year Terrence Romeo—also drew comparisons from the FEU squad that bagged the 2005 crown.
But as much as their current stint mirrors the 2005 squad’s successful run, Capacio points a distinct difference.
“It’s hard to compare,” said Capacio. “The 2005 team was more balanced with Arwind Santos and Mark Isip. Before 2005, they’d been in the Finals and they also won the championship in 2003. The 2005 team has more experience, while this is our first Finals.”
And Black knows how a team’s championship experience factors in a tight series.
“Majority of the players in my team right now were here in 2008,” said Black.
“We know that feeling of trying to break through, of trying to win that first championship. We’re well aware of it. But we also have our motivation—we’re trying to win our third straight crown. We’re just as hungry as they are.”
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