Back in UAAP Season 85, Ateneo de Manila University coach LA Mumar used the analogy of ‘Shaq and Kobe’ to describe his combo of center Kacey Dela Rosa and guard Jhazmin Joson.
As the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament unfolds, Mumar now references another famous NBA duo.
This time, he likened his key players, Dela Rosa and Nigerian foreign student-athlete Sarah Makanjuola, to the legendary San Antonio Spurs pair of Tim Duncan and David Robinson.
“Medyo old school: Duncan-David Robinson kami dito,” said Mumar after Ateneo’s 69-53 win over Far Eastern University on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
“We’re going with a twin towers approach. We’re an inside-out team. We patterned a lot of our stuff after them. Sa mga millennials, sorry di niyo na kilala yun, but Tim Duncan and David Robinson itong sila Sarah at si Kacey.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
With this approach, Ateneo dominated the Lady Tamaraws in rebounds and points in the paint.
The Blue Eagles grabbed 57 rebounds, 29 of which came from Makanjuola and Dela Rosa combined. They also converted 28 points in the paint, while FEU managed only 41 rebounds and 12 points inside.
Individually, Dela Rosa led Ateneo with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Makanjuola contributed 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Although both bigs were pleased with the victory, they acknowledged it was only the beginning, as the Blue Eagles still have nine games left in the elimination round.
“Gaya ng sinasabi ni coach LA, siguro kailangan namin i-set yung mindset namin na every game is a championship game and walang bibitaw,” said Dela Rosa.
Makanjuola echoed her teammate’s sentiments, saying, “Like we all know, we needed this game so bad, especially coming from a loss last game.
“We needed to really win this game if we really wanted to go higher and win the championship. I had to go all out.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Ateneo hasn’t reached the Finals of the collegiate women’s basketball tournament in nine years, a feat they last achieved with Danica Jose dominating in the paint.
For Mumar, the focus on Dela Rosa and Makanjuola is no secret, and he hopes that this reliance will carry them even beyond the Final Four.
“I think everybody knows that we’re an inside-out team, lahat ng kalaban namin,” Mumar said. “We feel na we can really build the team around these two girls. Actually, si (Junize Calago) did not play the best today, pero other girls stepped up.
“We’re really an inside-out team. These two are very talented and very hardworking. That is our identity, and we’re going to roll with that identity of being an inside-out team,” Mumar concluded.
