IT’S all or nothing for either top seed Ateneo de Manila or No. 4 Far Eastern University (FEU) as the Blue Eagles and Tamaraws clash in a knockout Final Four game in Season 80 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament today at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Blue Eagles are using the last of their twice-to-beat advantage when they take the court against the Tamaraws at 4 p.m.
FEU forced the no-tomorrow semifinal encounter with an 80-67 victory last Sunday.
Defending champion De La Salle is safe through the best-of-three Finals after beating Adamson University, 82-75, in a poorly officiated game last Saturday.
The Blue Eagles looked invincible in the eliminations only to see their hopes for a sweep broken by the Green Archers. That loss seemed to have broken their wings.
Ateneo shot 26 of 71 last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and is now on the brink of crashing out in a season which it was supposed to dominate.
Ateneo Head Coach Tab Baldwin told his wards to rediscover who they are and what they are capable of, especially now with their backs Are against the wall.
“Forget the regular season, whatever it means. This is playoff basketball,” Baldwin told the Blue Eagles. “We have to accept the humility of the scenario, we have to get back to understanding what we do well, and sort of rediscover who we are.”
“It’s really just going back to the drawing board, have a good hard look at FEU’s schemes. We just have to play a lot better and play much closer to what we’re capable of,” Baldwin added.
FEU Head Coach Olsen Racela said he anticipates Baldwin to make major adjustments.
“We expect adjustments, counters from Coach Tab—he’s a very experienced coach,” Racela said.
“But we’re looking forward to this game and see what we can do to stop a really strong team like Ateneo,” Racela said. “It’s going to be a fun Wednesday knockout game.”
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza