Games Saturday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
7:30 a.m. – NU vs Ateneo (16U)
9:30 a.m. – Adamson vs UST (16U)
12 p.m. – NU vs Ateneo (women’s)
2 p.m. – NU vs Ateneo (men’s)
4:30 p.m. – Adamson vs UST (men’s)
7 p.m. – Adamson vs UST (women’s)
By MARK REY MONTEJO
The beautiful and invigorating view from the top reminds University of Santo Tomas and National University of their willpower and hardships to reach the summit.
Now that they are enjoying what it is to be on top – again – the Tigers and Bulldogs have vowed to do everything – even willing to work harder to stay up there.
So expect another explosive show from both teams as they try to end their first round campaigns against separate rivals on winning notes in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
UST and Adamson squares off at 4:30 p.m., while the Bulldogs are set for a 2 p.m. duel with the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Of the two, the Bulldogs look like they need great efforts from Jake Figueroa, PJ Palacielo and Gelo Santiago if they are to improve their 5-1 record against an Ateneo side aching to end a two-game slide.
But all eyes will be on the Tigers.
After pulling off a 92-80 victory over Far Eastern University with a remarkable late surge, the Tigers have regained the confident swagger – one that made their supporters happy and proud.
Still, they don’t want to take Adamson for granted as it plans to carry the momentum from the first to the second part of the season.
“We have to face Adamson na 100% focus, because alam naman natin ‘yon, hindi sila madaling kalaban. Anytime, they can win,” said UST assistant coach CJ Balingit. “We have to keep this momentum going into the second round.”
Kyle Paranada, who helped the Tigers string three wins – including a classic 98-89 triple overtime against the Eagles — is expected to deliver another superb performance for host UST. He joins Nic Cabañero, Forthsky Padrigao, Collins Akowe, Gelo Crisostomo, and Mark Llemit at the forefront with hopes of bringing the glory back to España.
Adamson, which ended its three straight defeats with a 77-62 triumph over University of the East, goes for its first back-to-back win this year with Ray Allen Torres, Earl Medina, and Cedrick Manzano leading the pack.
“Our focus is just on the controllables. A lot of things happen that we can’t control… I think we just have to play above that… we should be better prepared moving forward,” said Adamson chief tactician Nash Racela.
The Bulldogs, who outlasted the La Salle Archers via an 82-78 win in their last contest, will once again rely on the troika of Figueroa, Palacielo and Santiago.
Jared Bahay, who is questionable to play this Saturday, along with Kymani Ladi, Dom Escobar, Shawn Tuano, Divine Adili and Ian Espinosa will lead the Eagles.
In women’s play, NU and Ateneo, which both holding 4-1 cards, duke it out for second spot in their 12 p.m. face-off, while UST shoots for six in a row when it stakes its immaculate 5-0 tally against Adamson (2-3). Morning action features two junior matches in NU-Ateneo (7:30 a.m.) and Adamson-UST (9:30 a.m.)
