UAAP: Seven questions ahead of Ateneo versus La Salle - Season 76 round two

The biggest collegiate rivalry will have another chapter, when the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles and the De La Salle University Green Archers collide on Sunday at 4pm, in the second round of UAAP Season 76.

When they first met this season, last July 7, the defending champs Ateneo were without Kiefer Ravena, but they managed to lead for a large part of the first half, until DLSU's offense shifted into another gear and closed this one out and take an 82-73 victory.

[Related: DLSU wins rivalry match, keeps Ateneo winless]

Here are seven questions looking ahead to what is sure to be yet another hard-fought match.

#1 How much of an impact will Kiefer Ravena have?

In five UAAP games against DLSU, Kiefer Ravena has averaged some very impressive numbers:

Kiefer Ravena	MINS	PTS	3P%	FG%	FTA	REB	AST	STL	TO
5 UAAP games vs DLSU	30.8	19.8	28.6%	50.7%	6.2	7.8	3.0	1.6	1.6

And that's not even as the focal point of the offense, as those stats came when Ateneo still boasted of the likes of Nico Salva and Greg Slaughter.

How the DLSU coaching staff opts to handle Ravena will be very interesting - do they stick a bigger or small defender on him? Do they double him? Do they try to deny him the ball? Simply put, don't expect Ravena to be a one-man wrecking team, but if the defense focuses on him exclusively, things will get a lot easier for some of the other guys…

#2 Can Ateneo's supporting cast come through again?

The wing men of Ateneo did a great job keeping their team in the game during the first round, especially rookie Chris Newsome. The big problem was the Ateneo bigs, as Frank Golla and JP Erram both fouled out, while Gideon Babilonia left after getting injured. If Golla, Erram, and now Ivan Enriquez, can stay in the game, while boxing out their DLSU counterparts, the Blue Eagles have a good shot at revenge.

Chris Newsome	MINS	PTS	2PM/2PA	FTM/FTA	REB	AST	TO
S76 R1 vs DLSU	33	27	10/10	4/5	7	4	3

However, at the rate the DLSU big men have been playing, the Ateneo bigs could have their hands full...

#3 Will Ateneo get to run?

Boxing out properly means rebounds, and rebounds mean chances to get out and run. The Blue Eagles have been making a concentrated effort to do just that in the second round, and so far it's worked like a charm. Versus Adamson in round two, they posted a season-high 22 fast break points, and while the stats say they got just 11 points in the same category versus FEU, they also got a lot of easy baskets off secondary attempts.

Prior to that Adamson game, ADMU's high was 15 points versus DLSU. The Archers are about average at defending the transition game, giving up 9.1 points to rank fourth. But the DLSU big men are in a different category from those of UP, ADU and DLSU. In fact, they've actually been dominating...


#4 Will the DLSU big men dominate?

A big part of DLSU's three-game winning streak in the second round has been the fact that they've been pounding the ball down low to Jason Perkins, Arnold Van Opstal and Norbert Torres.

2nd round averages	MINS	PTS	FG%	FT%	REB
Arnold Van Opstal	22.0	9.7	55.0%	36.8%	4.7
Jason Perkins	29.3	14.3	57.1%	52.6%	10.3
Norbert Torres	22.7	9.3	64.3%	76.9%	9.3

If La Salle chooses to exploit their height advantage, there's very little the Eagles can do except cross their fingers and hope for the best. Best-case scenario for the greenies: Erram and Golla foul out again, and the Archers get multiple cracks on every possession thanks to offensive rebounds.

#5 Can the Archers survive without Thomas Torres?

After having Thomas Torres start six games for the Archers in the first round, Torres got sick and missed the beginning of round two, before playing minimal minutes against UP. However, they weren't few enough, as he was still tagged with his second unsportsmanlike foul, and will thus miss the Ateneo game.

Thomas Torres	MINS	PTS	3P%	FG%	FT%	REB	AST	STL	TO
1st round averages	27.6	7.4	25.0%	29.3%	68.8%	4.6	3.9	1.1	3.0

	W	L
Torres as starter	3	3
Torres not in line-up or off the bench	3	1

DLSU will have to rely on veteran LA Revilla, and rookie Kib Montalbo to handle the quarterbacking chores, but it's hard to say they'll miss Torres given the way they've been playing as of late sans him.

#6 Which Jeron Teng will we see?

The reigning Rookie of the Year had a strong performance last season, getting his team back into the Final Four, but the sophomore slump has hit the younger Teng brother hard. His inconsistency at the stripe, in particular, has sometimes prevented him from seeing action late, while his decision-making is still sometimes circumspect.

	MINS	PTS	3P%	FGA	FG%	FT%	REB	AST
Season 75	32.9	16.2	33.3%	14.8	38.6%	57.9%	6.7	1.9
Season 76 - 1st round	31.6	14.6	0.00%	15.9	40.5%	38.7%	6.7	3.6
Season 76 - 2nd round	31.0	12.3	0.00%	14.3	32.6%	64.3%	6.3	2.0

Through the second round, Teng has been taking the backseat to the Archers' front court, but big players often show up in big games, and so the former Tiong Lian high school league standout could be due for an explosion in front of his rivals' fans.

#7 How crucial is it to win this game?

Both La Salle and Ateneo are tied at 6-4. The winner of the game will take third place, while the loser drops to fourth, with the UE Red Warriors and UST Growling Tigers nipping at their heels.

Ironically, both teams have the same final slate of games, UE, NU and UST. However, the Green Archers have the slight advantage of playing the Red Warriors sans the suspended Charles Mammie. Plus, Ateneo  faces UST on the last day of the regular season, due to it being a rescheduled affair from when the storm canceled a Wednesday slate, which means the Tigers get more days to be healthy.

That puts the onus on the defending champs to beat DLSU now in order to get a better chance of them getting back in the Final Four. - GMA News