In his five stellar years with Ateneo, Matt Nieto has been part of the UAAP’s biggest games.
Safe to say, nothing perturbs him anymore.
Sunday afternoon, 19,861 Ateneans and Iskos trooped to the SMART Araneta Coliseum to witness the first showdown between the Blue Eagles and the Fighting Maroons since the UAAP Season 81 Men’s Basketball Finals.
There was much fanfare heading into the game — so much that Nieto had to tell the defending champion’s young players not to buy into the hype.
“I tried to lead them because we’re the veterans — kami nila Thirdy [Ravena], Mike [Nieto].
“[We] Just try to keep the rookies and sophomores composed because we’ve been there. Marami na kami natutunan. We just treated it like veterans,” said 22-year-old floor general.
Amid the chaos of the game, the Blue Eagles showed uncanny poise while the Fighting Maroons folded.
The game itself was a tale of two halves. UP kept pace with Ateneo in the first 20 minutes, before getting blown out in the second half for an 89-63 win.
Nieto instigated the Ateneo surge, scoring 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with five rebounds and three assists. It proved that nothing makes him anxious, especially after averaging just 7.33 points, 2.43 rebounds, and 2.33 assists during their first six games.
“We expected yung game na ‘to — the hype, the media, the game. We just trusted the system of coach Tab. Lahat ng game plan namin, we just trusted coach Tab [Baldwin],” said Nieto.
“And we just did our job. UP’s the next game, so siya yung pinaka-importante.”
The Blue Eagles have no plans to change their approach to each game as they gun for a sweep and a three-peat.
“We know UST’s next. We know what happened last game. Kukunin namin lahat ng learnings namin dito, and mag-iimprove kami para sa second round.”
