La Salle Green Archers, Ateneo Blue Eagles sisimulan ang UAAP Finals duel
Laro Ngayon
(Mall of Asia Arena)
4 p.m. La Salle vs Ateneo (Game 1, best-of-3 Finals)
MULING magbabaga ang matagal nang alitan sa pagitan ng dalawang paaralan na nagnanais maghari sa UAAP men’s basketball.
Umpisa ngayong alas-4 ng hapon ay muling magtutuos sa best-of-three championship series ang nagtatanggol na kampeong De La Salle University at Ateneo de Manila University sa SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Unang nagsagupa ang dalawang koponang ito sa isang tennis “friendship game” noong Oktubre 22, 1939 sa Rizal Tennis Stadium at mismong ang Pangulong Manuel L. Quezon ang pumalo ng ceremonial opening serve.
Mula noon ay tumindi ang kanilang alitan sa larangan ng sports lalo na sa basketball.
Kaya sa kanilang ikaanim na paghaharap sa UAAP Finals ay muling sasariwain ng dalawang koponan ang pagiging mahigpit na magkatunggali sa pag-aagawan sa korona ng liga.
Nakalalamang ang Ateneo sa kanilang limang beses na pagsasagupa sa nakalipas na tatlong dekada sa pangtitulong serye kung saan tatlong beses nagwagi ang Ateneo (1988, 2002 at 2008) habang dalawang beses namang nanalo ang La Salle (2001 at 2016).
Gayunman, kapit ng Green Archers ang bentahe na mas maagang nakapaghanda para sa kampeonato matapos agad na patalsikin ang Adamson University Soaring Falcons sa kuwestiyonableng laban sa semifinals, 82-75, at ang pagtala ng 79-76 panalo na pumigil sa Ateneo para mawalis ang eliminasyon.
“As what had said, there were lots of distractions during the first round. Good thing lahat naka-focus na. We only have one goal and everybody has been very, very responsible for the things that we’re doing. Lahat nagsasakripisyo, lahat nagta-trabaho. We’re not going to stop working hard until we get the championship,” sabi ni La Salle coach Aldin Ayo.
Agad din nagtuon ng konsentrasyon ang Blue Eagles sa unahan sa dalawang panalo na pangkampeonatong serye matapos nitong patalsikin ang nakatapat na Far Eastern University Tamaraws na halos umagaw sa ikalawa at huling silya sa Finals bago nito naitakas ang 88-84 panalo sa semifinals noong Miyerkules.
“I think the coaching staff has to set the tone and we gotta come down from the cloud pretty quick. Get our focus on the next game because we didn’t play this season just to win in the semis. We played this season to go as far as this team is capable of going,” sabi ni Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin.
“We have no illusion that it’s gonna be an easy game for us. We have to dig deep and really play in spite of this game that we’re tired and it went into overtime. Fatigue’s not a factor right now. We’re gonna find a way to overcome that. We can’t enjoy this game too much because we have to focus on the next game,” dagdag naman ni Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.