Ateneo/La Salle Final?

by Migs

It's been 5 years since the last Ateneo/La Salle UAAP final, and, with all due respect to other top squads like UE, FEU, and UST, there's nothing quite like a Green/Blue battle for what is seen by some to be Philippine amateur basketball's most prestigious crown.

As of this piece's writing, the Eagles sport a record of 11 and 1, with their most recent victory coming at the expense of the UP Fighting Maroons. This season for the Ateneans has seemed to have been characterized by winning games on defense and clutch plays. Chris Tiu's timely shooting, flanked by Nonoy Baclao's superb interior defense and Rabeh Al Hussaini's supreme post play has kept the Blue and White well above water in Season 71. Eric Salamat and Jai Reyes' spitfire play has also helped spark Ateneo during offensive lulls, and man-child Ryan Buenafe has, thus far, lived up to most, if not all, of the hype associated with him as he ventured into the collegiate ranks off of a stellar high school basketball career. While players like Kirk Long, Jobe Nkemakolam, and Yuri Escueta have been on proverbial offensive slumps this year, they've played just enough pesky team defense and provide enough grit during tight moments to make the Loyola Heights mavens that much harder to beat.

The De La Salle Green Archers, on the other hand, have been all about offensive balance and end to end energy. 3 Archers have averaged double figures for the Taft-based team this year (Casio, Maierhofer, and Mangahas), and a deep bench highlighted by the play of cagers like Pj Barua, Josh Webb, and the feisty LA Revilla have complimented Franz Pumaren's usual, vaunted, full court defense with an offense that maxes out the abilities of all of the players on the floor at any given time. La Salle is all about getting easy baskets from the perimeter and in transition as a result of their stifling traps, their motion-oriented offensive sets more than cover up for the lack of a consistent, Green and White, post presence (no Manny Ramos or Carlo Sharma on this squad...sorry, Pj Walsham). All things considered, while perimeter-oriented teams can tend to move towards offensive droughts easier than those with offenses geared towards banging inside, patient, effective, execution, can tend to ensure that the scoring patterns flow smoothly, and are balanced enough so as not to become predictable in the eyes of the opposition. La Salle, in a lot of ways, epitomizes this equilibirum between helter skelter ball and that which is rooted in set plays.

FEU is a team feeding off of inspiration, and UE is always dangerous with their lights-out shooters and freak athletes, but then, for my money, I'd say that the Ateneo Blue Eagles and De La Salle Green Archers are on a collision course for a UAAP finals tiff.

Whatever happens, in the end, Araneta Center and ABS-CBN win, however, nabbing the UAAP title for Season 71 wouldn't be too shabby, either.

*Who do you guys think will make the UAAP finals, and why? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.*

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