The rivalry between Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University will always be a crowd-drawer in the UAAP. However, the latest installment saw the Green Archers emerge victorious, defeating the Blue Eagles 80-65 in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday.
Unfortunately, only 8,462 fans—mostly in green—attended the game at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, as class suspensions at both schools affected onsite ticket sales.
As both teams focused on the action on the court, the Green Archers’ fast start proved to be the Blue Eagles’ undoing in what became a wire-to-wire win.
Reigning Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao led the charge for La Salle with an impressive performance, scoring 33 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing out two assists, along with one steal.
“KQ played a hell of a game,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin. “There’s no other way to sum that up. He was good in many aspects of the game. He’s a prolific scorer; he passes the ball, he made good decisions, and he played good defense at times. He led his team, and you could see that he was inspired for the game. The game mattered a lot to him, and he put in an outstanding performance. He led a championship basketball team.
“I know they think that way; I know they believe that’s where they belong. I don’t see anything to doubt that. They’re just a very put-together basketball team, and they’re playing really good basketball. They’re playing inspirational basketball; they’re playing very attractive basketball from a coach’s perspective, and they were just clearly better than us tonight.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
In contrast, Topex Robinson achieved another milestone in his stint as La Salle’s head coach by sweeping Ateneo.
This marks the first time in 11 years that the Green Archers have defeated the Blue Eagles twice in the elimination round.
The last coach to achieve this feat for La Salle was Juno Sauler, who led his alma mater to the championship that season.
Despite this success, Robinson emphasized that it was just a small step toward his team’s major goal: successfully defending their title for the first time since Season 64.
“Until it was mentioned to me, I never really thought about that coming into this game. We always treat it as if you’re only as good as your last game. We focus on what’s important, and that’s to make sure that we concentrate on the things we have control over. That’s how we’re gonna face Ateneo,” said the 49-year-old mentor from Olongapo.
“Nothing really special for us because, as I said, beating them twice doesn’t guarantee us a championship. We just have to always learn and try to correct the mistakes we made and improve for our next game.”
Every time the Blue Eagles tried to rally and find a way back, the Green Archers always had an answer to halt their momentum.
This defeat left Ateneo back at square one, ending a two-game winning streak against National University and the University of Santo Tomas.
Clearly, it is La Salle’s time to dominate Ateneo, a stark contrast to the early years of the Baldwin era, which saw the Blue Eagles win seven straight games against the Green Archers from Seasons 80 to 84.
“We had our moments; we had mini runs, and they answered that with very good play—solid team basketball that showed their cohesion and their collective understanding of what it takes to be a better team in tough moments. We put ourselves in a hole with the way we started the game, and I was very disappointed with that,” said Baldwin.
“We looked a bit intimidated by their standing and the way they’ve played, and that’s certainly not how we wanted to come out. We aimed to start with some fury and fight, but we didn’t put any pressure on them defensively, and they exploited that,” the decorated tactician continued.
“They got easy baskets down the middle early on, and their pick-and-roll was successful from the start. Once we got into that hole, it was an uphill battle all night. We hung in there, but we were never quite competitive enough.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
As the Green Archers improved to a 10-1 record, extending their winning streak to seven games, the Blue Eagles remain stuck in seventh place with a 3-7 record.
Despite his team’s dominance this year, Robinson continues to hold Baldwin in high esteem, especially since they worked together in the Gilas program.
This respect leads him to believe that the 2002 FIBA World Championship semifinalist still has a chance to lead Ateneo into this year’s semifinals.
“The way he approaches the game, the way he challenges his players, and the way he keeps them competitive, given the fact that his lineup is really depleted coming into this season is impressive,” said Robinson.
“But still, he was able to secure some wins. I’m sure he will still have plenty of opportunities to make the Final Four, and that’s just the way he is. He’s been a competitor all his life, and that’s why I respect him so much.”
