Games today:
(Mall of Asia Arena)
3:30 p.m. — UST vs Adamson
6:30 p.m. — La Salle vs Ateneo
Ateneo de Manila University is in its worst start in over a decade after suffering back-to-back losses to open its campaign in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.
But defending champion De La Salle University is not looking at the Blue Eagles’ woeful situation.
After all, everything changes when the storied rivalry of the blue and green kicks in.
The Green Archers brace for a tough battle when they shoot for their third straight win and a firmer grip at the top spot Sunday night against the Blue Eagles at the Mall of Asia Arena.
La Salle is on a two-game roll including a dominating 82-52 crushing of Adamson University as it shares the lead with University of Santo Tomas (UST).
While the Green Archers, led by reigning Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao, are on the right track, the Blue Eagles are struggling for form.
The Blue Eagles absorbed a 74-64 loss to the Growling Tigers last Wednesday and slid down the bottom of the pack.
The defeat not only snapped Ateneo’s 17-game, nine-year win streak over UST, but also dealt the team its worst start since 2013 and first under head coach Tab Baldwin.
However, La Salle head coach Topex Robinson is not discounting the capability of the Blue Eagles to bounce back and come in as a different team in their 6:30 p.m. tussle.
“We’ll always respect the team. It doesn’t matter who we’re gonna play, we’ll always make sure we focus on the things we have control and that’s us. We make sure we will respect and honor this game that’s been good to us by the way we play,” Robinson said.
Despite blowing out the Falcons, Robinson wants to see an improvement in the way his wards take care of the basketball after committing 19 turnovers last time.
He underscores the importance of not making the same mistakes against the Blue Eagles, who could still be a man down with injured veteran Chris Koon.
“We always remind ourselves, the always important game is the game in front of us. It just so happens it’s Ateneo this coming Sunday, but we’ll definitely bring what we learned from this (game against Adamson),” he said.
“We made a lot of mistakes, we committed a lot of turnovers, so that’s one thing we’re gonna focus on.”
Aside from Quiambao, Robinson will also bank on Doi Dungo, who went 5-of-5 from the three-point area last game, big man Henry Agunanne, JC Macalalag and Vhoris Marasigan to bring down the Blue Eagles led by Joshua Lazaro, Shawn Tuano, Kris Porter and Sean Quitevis.
Meanwhile, UST eyes a third straight win as it stakes its perfect record against Adamson at 3:30 p.m.
The Falcons sport a 1-1 card after falling short of sustaining the momentum of their opening day win over Far Eastern University.
“Adamson is a well-coached team. They have a good system. They have (good) players. We cannot take them for granted,” said UST coach Pido Jarencio, whose squad has a shot at surpassing their two wins last season in just its third assignment.