Ateneo, La Salle begin much-awaited title duel

MANILA, Philippines – The hype that has gripped basketball-crazy Philippines for more than a week ends Sunday when rivals Ateneo and La Salle begin their much-awaited title showdown in Game 1 of the best-of-three series at the Araneta Coliseum. Welcome to the UAAP Finals, featuring the country’s much-celebrated school rivalry between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the La Salle Green Archers. Half of the Big Dome will be painted blue in support of Ateneo while the other will have green-wearing supporters of La Salle. Behind the mad scramble for tickets, which is one of the hottest items right now, coaches of both schools are busy preparing their players for the tough battle ahead. Ateneo coach Norman Black said despite being the favorites in the series, they won’t take La Salle lightly. “La Salle is a very different team when it comes to the finals. No matter where the two teams are in the standings, whenever they fought it’s always a tough game for both teams." “Whoever’s the favorite or underdog you have one thing to do on Sunday and that is to be ready to play on the court." Franz Pumaren, Black’s counterpart at the La Salle bench, said they are the underdogs in this title series. “We are not as dominant as before. We need to play two notches higher and it’s a must win for us." “We made it this far through the collective effort of the players and their willingness to win. It will really take a total team effort on our part to win the series." Both coaches also agree that winning the opener of the best-of-three finals won’t guarantee any team of winning the crown hinting that the championship series is expected to go the full route. The Eagles emerged as the top team in the elimination after compiling a league-best 13-1 win-loss card then easily disposed University of the East, 70-50, in the semifinals. La Salle, meanwhile, needed to score a 62-59 win over Far Eastern University in a playoff match for the no.2 seeding and the twice-to-beat edge in the final-four phase of the tournament The Archers then entered their 13th finals appearance, since the final-four format was used by the league in 1994, with a 67-62 triumph over FEU in the semis. – GMANews.TV