MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo, a team teeming with firepower and championship experience, and Far Eastern, a squad that always seem to fall short against the Eagles the last two years, renew their rivalry today as the UAAP Season 75 men’s basketball tournament nears its halfway point.
The four-time defending titlist Eagles and the Tamaraws, tied with the UST Tigers for the lead at 5-1, tangle at 4 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in a match so highly anticipated that tickets to the match are sold separately from the 12 noon opener between National U (4-2) and De La Salle (3-3).
Winner of the AdMU-FEU match will take the solo lead ahead of UST while dropping the loser to third.
“FEU is a strong team and it’s always tough to play against them,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black, whose wards try to sustain their mastery over the Tams spanning two years.
FEU last won over Ateneo in the second round of Season 73 but the Eagles swept their last six meetings, including a pair of 2-0 finals romps.
“I challenge my players to show their heart and be motivated to break our two-year slump against Ateneo,” FEU coach Bert Flores said in Filipino.
“We’ll try our best because Ateneo is tough especially with (Greg) Slaughter around, we have problems matching up against him and so I hope my big men like (Anthony) Hargrove, (Arvie) Bringas, and (Christian) Sentcheu will be up to this big challenge,” he added.
Ateneo and FEU hope to come fresh coming off a two-week break brought about by the recent monsoon rains that forced the re-scheduling of the games.
“We’re all affected by the long layoff. Everyone had to sit it out for two weeks,” said Black, who used the lull to “go over their (FEU) offense and we’re practicing on how to defend them.”
Black is also concerned that the break has rejuvenated FEU guard RR Garcia, who has been bothered by an ankle injury.
”RR will be okay by the time we play them,” said Black.
Flores said Garcia is about 75-80 percent by now.
“I hope he’ll play a bigger factor tomorrow (today) especially since he was virtually non-existent the past games,” said Flores, who also pins his hope on Terrence Romeo, hero of their previous 73-70 win over State U.
Meanwhile, the first game between the Bulldogs and Archers will practically decide which team will end up the first round at No. 4 and enjoy some sort of cushion in the second-half push for the Final Four.