Eagles, Falcons sharpen claws for duel

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo aims to forge a title showdown with early finalist Far Eastern University when the No. 2 seed Blue Eagles battle No. 3 Adamson today in the UAAP Season 73 men’s basketball tourney Final Four at the Araneta Coliseum.

 The defending champion Blue Eagles gun for the pivotal win against the Falcons at 4 p.m., their sights set on booking a third straight trip to the best-of-three championship round.

The Tams are waiting for their opponent after earning the first finals berth with their 69-59 disposal of No. 4 La Salle in the other semis pairing.

Although Ateneo swept Adamson in their two meetings in the elims (69-66 and 55-52), actually 27-0 dating back to 1997, both coaches Norman Black and Leo Austria expect a virtual dogfight today.

“It’s so hard to play against Adamson. They are a very tough team. They are disciplined and I expect a tough match-up against them,” said Black, whose wards enjoy twice-to-beat advantage in this matchup.

“The last two games were a close fight, we nearly won if not for miscues in the endgame. So I think we have a good chance against them,” said Austria, looking to force a decider on Tuesday.

“The boys are confident and excited for the game; they will go all out because they all know what’s at stake. We’re 0-27 against Ateneo in the last 13 years and we want to break this. So we’re really shooting two birds with one stone here,” Austria added.

“Of course our main goal is not just to beat Ateneo, but to make it to the championship.”

Adamson last won a title in the late 1970s with legendary guard Hector Calma in tow.

Black said Adamson’s hunger and desire can be matched by his three-peat-seeking wards. “We want to win. We already know how it feels to be a winner and we want to continue experiencing it,” he said.

The two protagonists will be coming off a long break with the Falcons last seeing action Sept. 9 and the Eagles Sept. 11 and both coaches hope their players will enter the game fresh rather than rusty.

Ateneo Blue Eaglets look to complete a dream season highlighted by a 14-0 sweep by gunning for the UAAP Season 73 juniors basketball title at 11 a.m. today against University of Santo Tomas at the same venue.

The Eaglets, who reached the finals outright with a thrice-to-beat incentive with their sweep, have moved one win away from their third straight crown after beating the Tiger Cubs in an intense match, 76-66, last Thursday.

Because of its clean slate after the elims, Ateneo went straight to the finals and took a built-in 1-0 lead in a virtual best-of-five series. The Tiger Cubs prevailed at the start of the unique finals showdown, to reduce it to a race-to-two affair.

Now Ateneo needed just one to bring the trophy back to Loyola.