ATENEO is out to prove it has what it takes to clinch the No. 1 slot in the Final Four.
“(Our game against) Adamson is a huge affair. It allows us to finish at the top of the table. I don’t think many people would have expected that in the beginning or middle of the season,” coach Tab Baldwin said after Ateneo humbled defending champion University of the Philippines 75-67 last Saturday.
“There’s only one way to play a game of basketball — play to win,” he added.
To achieve that lofty goal, the Eagles try to end the eliminations with a big win against Adamson University today in the 85th UAAP basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The match is set at 4 p.m., with Ateneo seeking to wind up with an 11-3 mark in the eliminations and finish in a tie with the Fighting Maroons. If that happens, the Eagles will gain the top seed in the playoffs due to a superior quotient.
La Salle fights for dear life when it faces also-ran University of Santo Tomas in the curtain-raiser at 2 o’clock and hope the Soaring Falcons lose to Ateneo to forge a playoff for the No. 4 slot.
“That kind of toughness, that kind of resolve, that kind of composure that we showed in the second half (against UP), not always but much, much better than what we’ve shown,” Baldwin said.
“I think that’s what gives you confidence. Not winning but the quality of the performance against the level of competition and we were so much better today in that regard.”
The Eagles will bank on naturalized Filipino center and reigning MVP Ange Kouame, Dave Ildefonso, Kai Ballungay, BJ Andrade, and Forthsky Padrigao.
Adamson tactician Nash Racela insisted his troops are determined to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2018.
“A lot of people are counting us out already, probably because they want La Salle to make it to the Final Four. I don’t know, maybe they are just creating Ateneo iyong No. 1, La Salle No. 4 in the semis,” Racela said.
“I know how people think (and) we want to counter that, it’s actually our goal. Expectations and reality are always different. So, we’ll try our best.”
With a 7-6 card that included a 64-63 decision over National University four days ago, the Falcons will pin their hopes on Jerom Lastimosa, Lenda Douanga, Didat Hanapi, Cedrick Manzano, and Joem Sabandal.
Kevin Quiambao, Penny Estacio, Evan Nelle, Michael Phillips, and Mark Nonoy will carry the fight for the Green Archers, who are coming off a 72-80 loss to University of the East that dropped them to 6-7 last Saturday.
The Growling Tigers’ campaign went south after winning their first outing, losing 12 straight, counting a 62-77 drubbing at the hands of Far Eastern University last Saturday.
