Men’s basketball standings
Ateneo 4-1
NU 4-1
UST 3-1
UP 3-2
La Salle 2-2
FEU 1-3
Adamson 1-4
UE 0-4
Games Saturday
(The Blue Eagle Gym)
7:30 a.m. – Adamson vs UE (16U)
9:30 a.m. – UST vs Ateneo (16U)
12 p.m. – Adamson vs UE (women’s)
2 p.m. – Adamson vs UE (men’s)
4:30 p.m. – UST vs Ateneo (men’s)
7 p.m. – UST vs Ateneo (women’s)
By MARK REY MONTEJO
The UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament visits the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City on Saturday, Oct. 11, and hopefully, the Ateneo Blue Eagles will find comfort to the newly-refurbished facility.
And hopefully, it could be a place where they could start another winning run.
After absorbing their first setback in five games, following a crushing 83-69 loss to reigning champion University of the Philippines last Wednesday, the Blue Eagles are determined to regain their footing with a victory against the Growling Tigers.
Tipoff is at 4:30 p.m., following the 2 p.m. skirmish between Adamson and University of the East with both squads seeking for a recovery victory, especially the Red Warriors, who are the lone winless team this year with a dismal 0-4 card.
With the so-called ‘sixth-man’on its side, Ateneo is likely to play with lots of pride and fire against an equally dangerous UST side as both teams try to boost their standings.
“[We’re] trying to hold on to a, you know, really outstanding start to the season,” said head coach Tab Baldwin. “So both teams play for a lot, but I think that’s pretty much always the case early in the season.”
A victory would move Ateneo to first place over National University, while a setback would push it down to third with UST taking its spot.
UST, on the other hand, is out to prove that it can play with the same intensity and discipline on a different court after playing most of its games at the Quadricentennial Pavilion.
“We’re so used to playing here at the home court. The next game, we’re going to play at the newly renovated Blue Eagle Gym. We’re very excited, actually,” said assistant coach Juben Ledesma.
“We’re just looking forward to playing against them. We also have respect for them. We’ll prepare and rest well because we still have a week to prepare for them,” Nic Cabañero added.
Kymani Ladi headlines the Blue Eagles with Shawn Tuano, Jared Bahay, Divine Adili, Ian Espinosa also likely to deliver in front of their supporters. Dom Escobar, who starred for Ateneo in their 81-74 win over archrival De La Salle University, tries to better his game after a quiet four-point output in their loss to UP.
After leading the team to a 111-99 triumph against UE, Collins Akowe will once again joins forces with Cabañero, Forthsky Padrigao, Amiel Acido, Gelo Crisostomo, and Mark Lllemit in their bid for a fourth win.
Meanwhile, Adamson, which is hoping to halt its three-game slide including a heartbreaking 56-54 loss to NU, aims to get back on the winning track at the expense of the struggling UE side.
Cedrick Manzano paces the Soaring Falcons with Matt Montebon, John Earl Medina, and Mudiaga Ojarikre, while the Red Warriors will have to draw more from John Abate Drayton Caoile, Mariano Tañedo, and Precious Momowei if they are to nail their first win.
Abate did great in the team’s game against UST, exploding for 27 points but these were not enough to lift the Recto-based squad to its first win.
In women’s basketball, a showdown of unbeaten teams take the center stage with Ateneo (4-0) and UST (3-0) staking their pristine cards for a chance to seize the No. 1 spot.
The Blue Eagles and the Growling Tigresses meet at 7 p.m., while the Lady Falcons and Lady Warriors clash at 12 noon with 16U games raising the curtain in the morning, featuring Adamson vs UE at 7:30 a.m. and UST vs Ateneo at 9:30 a.m.
