UAAP: UP driving 6-game run into duel vs Ateneo

Ateneo’s Mason Amos dunks in opposition to UST within the UAAP Season 86 males’s basketball event.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.web

Ateneo would quite be in a greater place within the standings heading right into a showdown in opposition to title rival College of the Philippines.

However regardless of simply making it to 3-3 (win-loss), the Blue Eagles are prepared for the streaking Maroons.

“We’ll present up,” stated Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin. “Don’t lose any sleep over that; we’ll be there.”

UP can be supremely assured in opposition to the crew it has confronted within the championship of the previous two seasons. And why not? The Maroons have received their first six video games within the UAAP Season 86 males’s basketball event, whereas the defending champions have been up-and-down thus far within the event.

However Baldwin believes Ateneo’s 97-77 rout of College of Santo Tomas in its final match will give UP one thing to consider.

“All of us actually love being underdogs and we hate being the favorites,” Baldwin stated.

“Goldwin can sweat slightly bit this week, which we would like him to. However come sport time on Sunday, he’s gonna be very assured in his crew. He’s gonna be very assured of their efficiency, their power however he’s gonna fear, through the week; I feel our efficiency [against UST] gave him a couple of various things to consider,” he added.

Thus far, the one factor Goldwin Monteverde has been desirous about is getting his crew to enhance sport by sport.

“For the crew, each sport, successful shut video games or not, we’ll all the time take that as a studying expertise. Particularly the crew now’s a mixture of veterans and younger guys. They really want this type of sport to develop as a crew,” stated Monteverde after UP’s nail-biting 67-64 victory over La Salle final Wednesday.

“We shouldn’t cease [learning],” Monteverde, who steered UP to the Season 84 crown—the varsity’s first after 36 years—stated. “There’s all the time one thing we are able to enhance on. As a crew, we’ll actually take good and dangerous video games as studying classes for us. We are going to proceed to search for enhancements each sport and each observe. [Learning is] nonstop.”

UP’s 6-0 begin has erased no matter psychological edge Ateneo would have had at this level of the event, the primary assembly between the 2 squads who battled for the final two UAAP titles. However even when issues had gone in response to plan, Baldwin by no means noticed this sport as a rematch of final season’s championship duel. “It’s undoubtedly not a rematch. The names of the groups could be the identical however we’re far cry from the identical crew that went out to play them. We now have loads to show. And each sport is a chance for us to show issues. It’s an ideal situation to go up in opposition to the crew that’s overwhelmed [every opponent],” Baldwin stated.

UP and Ateneo will parade rosters which might be starkly completely different from those that engaged in a dramatic championship showdown final season.

That duel featured Finals Most Useful Participant Ange Kouame, Dave Ildefonso, BJ Andrade and Forthsky Padrigao of the Eagles going up in opposition to the Maroons’ Carl Tamayo, Zavier Lucero, James Spencer and Henry Galinato.

None of them can be on the court docket on Sunday.