SAFE to say, Ateneo and La Salle’s 100th head-to-head brought about a breath of fresh air to the UAAP’s most storied rivalry.
On Wednesday in the middle of the SM Mall of Asia Arena, the defending champion Green Archers went at it with the resurgent Blue Eagles, who were coming off a statement triumph over perennial contender National U.
The game itself did not disappoint, but for Ateneo head coach Louie Alas, the effort from start to finish of his team did.
“Na-overwhelm kami ng panalo noong last game,” he explained on the heels of their 76-83 loss. “Sabi ko nga sa kanila, ‘This is not the team that played against NU.’ And for that, kailangan pa namin mag-usap nang mag-usap.”
“Nawala talaga yung sharpness namin. And that’s a big, big reason for the loss.”
READ: La Salle proves steadier than Ateneo for second straight win
La Salle enforced its most determined defense of the tournament yet, putting the blue-and-white's 1-2 punch of Jared Bahay and Kieffer Alas inside the pressure cooker.
Bahay still emerged with 14 points and three assists. Alas, however, was allowed only five markers on 2-of-11 shooting.
One Bigger Fight
Even more, the first-year shot-caller also rued their fourth quarter, where they ran out of gas and couldn't keep up with their archrivals.
As he described, “Just give credit to La Salle kasi they played the whole 40 minutes. Kami, three quarters lang yata kami naglaro nang maganda eh. Nip and tuck 'di ba? Parang kami yung pagod na pagod.”
“It happened against UP. It happened again today. So we have to check that, and we will view the video ngayong gabi," he added, looking back as well to their defeat to the University of the Philippines when they were outscored 30-48 in the second half.
True to form, though, Alas took all the blame and said he and his coaching staff need to prepare their players a lot better, especially with a couple more crucial contests against Far Eastern University and University of Santo Tomas coming up.
“I told my players, hindi kasi kami naglaro ng smart. Sabi ko, ‘I failed to motivate you to play smarter.’ So next time, it will not happen again,” he said.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
