After 59 games, the UAAP Season 79 Men’s Basketball tournament is down to its final two teams.
And after eight long years, both the De La Salle University Green Archers and the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles are back on the biggest stage in collegiate basketball.
The two historic basketball programs have a combined 35 collegiate basketball crowns (22 for the Blue Eagles, 13 for the Green Archers). Moreover, the two arch-rivals have a tally of their own, with Ateneo up 45-33 in head-to-head UAAP matches dating back to 1986.
This season, though, the expectations for both teams were far apart.
The De La Salle University Green Archers were the consensus pre-season favorites to win it all. Aside from the eligibility of Cameroonian student-athlete Ben Mbala, La Salle also tapped the services of NCAA champion coach Aldin Ayo to steer their ship.
Immediately, Ayo turned a group of blue-chip recruits into blue-collar workers, transforming the Green Archers into knights.
The cagers from Taft Avenue boast the league’s top offense, producing 86.9 points per game (15.2 points apart from second-ranked Adamson), while having a league-high margin of 14.5 points per game.
Watching the Green Archers is like watching a 40-minute monster truck show: pure mayhem. Out of the 26.1 turnovers they force, 8.3 come from steals. Moreover, La Salle’s sheer size is tough to handle for the league’s other teams, as they snatch up 51.8 rebounds per outing that lead to a league-high 19.0 second-chance points.
However, there has been only one team this season that solved the La Salle riddle: the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
After being lambasted 97-81 in their first round encounter, the Blue Eagles, behind the genius of American-Kiwi mentor Tab Baldwin, formulated a game plan that saw a bevy of outlet passes and hard-nosed rebounding in their second round tilt.
During that game, the Blue Eagles out-rebounded the Green Archers, 48 to 35. In addition, their on- and off-ball defense was sticky, limiting La Salle to their season-low in shooting, 28.75 percent.
The victory, together with their semifinals win over defending champions Far Eastern University Tamaraws, turned doubters into believers as the Blue Eagles are now in a place that only a handful had believed they could reach: the Finals.
The Case for La Salle
Out of all the teams in the UAAP, the Green Archers have suffered the least amount of off-season casualties heading into the season. Almost their entire roster are carry-overs from a season ago, making them the most battle-tested team in the league.
The way they were beating opponents also gave them the luxury of not burning out their student-athletes. Only two players from La Salle average above 25 minutes per outing: soon-to-be-named MVP Ben Mbala (30.5 minutes) and Mythical Five member Jeron Teng (27.3). 10 Green Archers average at least 9.0 minutes of game time.
Besides their height advantage over the Blue Eagles, their depth in the backcourt will give them an edge over the Blue Eagles. Thomas Torres, Aljun Melecio, Kib Montalbo, and Andrei Caracut are the anchors of La Salle’s Mayhem defense, and on the other end, can blitz their opponents from downtown.
The Case for Ateneo
After being ravaged by the graduations of Kiefer Ravena, Von Pessumal, and Alfonzo Gotladera, and the expulsion of seven other blue-chip recruits during the summer, the Blue Eagles still managed to top the league in bench points this season (37.9 points). The combo of Thirdy Ravena and Isaac Go, though the two have combined for just three starts this season, has ensured that there will be no down time for Ateneo.
Besides being the second stingiest defensive team, one more thing that Ateneo has going for them is that rest has never been kind to La Salle.
| Day Break | Average Margin | Points Scored | Points Allowed |
| Less than 4 days of rest | 23.0 | 94.0 | 71.0 |
| More than 4 days of rest | 5.0 | 78.0 | 73.0 |
Finally, as experienced and talented as La Salle’s line-up is, Baldwin has a wealth of experience handling these kinds of situations and his adjustments on the fly can spell the difference for the series.
Key Players
La Salle: Jeron Teng
Season 79 Averages: 17.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.0 apg
For most of the season, the King Archer has taken a step back to Mbala in terms of scoring. But this time around, he cannot allow himself to be Speedy. He has to become the Green Arrow.
As seen during La Salle’s semifinals win over Adamson, Teng’s big game experience proved to be the difference. And if winning the crown in his final year of duty is not enough motivation for him, his brother had lost to the same school back in 2012, and he himself is just 4-5 against Ateneo.
Ateneo: Thirdy Ravena
Season 79 Averages: 10.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.4 apg
Nowadays, Thirdy is no longer referred to as Kiefer’s brother. All throughout the season, he has developed his own niche by filling up the stat sheets night in and night out.
Ravena’s points will come, but the most important contribution he is giving the team is his rebound. In their regular season series against La Salle, the Ateneo junior grabbed an average of 9.5 rebounds. After going through a war against FEU, can the 20-year-old continue to do this in two or even three straight games?
X-Factors
La Salle: Thomas Torres
Season 79 Averages: 7.5 ppg, 15.9% 3FG%
Torres’ final year with La Salle has been underwhelming, to say the least.
On paper, he is the team’s starter but, slowly, his subpar play placed him behind junior Kib Montalbo and rookie Aljun Melecio during crucial situations. Against Ateneo this season, he has struggled as well, shooting a combined 6-for-20 from the field.
La Salle’s co-captain must dig deep and find a way to break out of his slump to finish his UAAP career with that one shining moment.
Ateneo: Adrian Wong
Season 79 Averages: 8.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.2 apg
The second-year Blue Eagle is one of the most underrated players in the league today.
Standing at least 6-foot-4, Wong is a walking cheat sheet, as he is classified as a point guard — making him at least two inches taller than the rest of league’s floor generals.
Wong has been the most pivotal Blue Eagle in their regular season series against the Green Archers. He is averaging 13.0 points against La Salle, but more than the points, his strength alone broke the Mayhem press.
With La Salle’s pitbulls hounding him for the entire game, can he sustain his impressive season in the biggest of stages?
Prognosis
La Salle in 3
This series will be close, for sure. But the youth of the Ateneo Blue Eagles will haunt them come the crucial stages of the Finals.
It will be tough for the young Blue Eagles to overcome the depth and, more importantly, the experience of the battle-tested Green Archers.
