BEAT ATENEO!
ANIMO LA SALLE!!!
That was the war chant echoing through a green-tinted nation yesterday, as the bitter crosstown rivals squared up again — two schools separated by a few metro cities and about a century’s worth of trying to knock each other’s heads off for Final Four oxygen.
La Salle came in drawing back the bowstring, flaming green arrows humming, ready to let them fly. Ateneo swooped in like sky-kings defending their airspace, claws out, wings spread, trying to impose that ordained-from-the-hill aura.
And man, the opening half felt like a tense, slow-cooking chess duel — nothing flashy, every piece tested, every cut and counter measured.
No mad spurts, and each team’s separation not exceeding six.
The Katipunan Eagles got an early boost from Divine Adili in the 3rd and opened up a 10-point lead.
But that was it because once we crossed into the last 15 minutes? That was Jacob Cortez’s personal masterpiece.
The kid started slithering through seams in those point-of-attack isolations, bending the Ateneo defensive shell like it was warm tin, and suddenly those green arrows caught fire, arcing through the air and punching straight into the Atenean ribcage.
By the end of 40 minutes, it wasn’t just a win. It was a 78–72 systematic dismantling of a one-and-done-powered Eagles squad that came in hoping to rewrite their season.
Instead, La Salle handed them the L that hurts the most.
But this Ateneo unmaking? It didn’t start yesterday.
The first domino fell back on October 5, 2025, in the first round.
Scoreboard said 68–38, Ateneo up an unbelievable huge 30 at the end of the third, and the Ladi–Escobar–Bahay triumvirate looked every bit unsolvable. Dom Escobar cooking with 15, Kymani Ladi gliding to 13, the offense humming that classic Tab Baldwin nectar — multiple options, three guys running hot, drives cascading into kickouts, everything flowing like it was drawn on a whiteboard in the clouds.
And then the fourth quarter arrived.
And the myth cracked.
Hard.
La Salle didn’t just erase a 30-point lead — they shredded it. And suddenly the only thing keeping Ateneo from a spiritual collapse was a rescue flare from Shawn Tuano. The blue-hot trio of Ladi, Escobar, and Bahay?
Two points. Total.
The Ateneo team? Horrendous. Limited to 18,7% field goal percentage, outhustled on the boards, 17-4, and outscored 36-13.
Meanwhile, the five of Mike Phillips, Mason Amos, Jacob Cortez, Kean Baclaan, and EJ Gollena turned into a demolition crew, smashing the once-imposing Ateneo machine into scattered metallic confetti.
One possession at a time.
No panic.
No rushing. Just patient traps, slithering switches, help-defense tags, and one golden rule:
Don’t let Escobar dance right. Ever.
Ateneo escaped with a W.
But the scar tissue remained.
The shroud of invincibility pffffft.
The blueprint on how to beat Ateneo was out in the wild.
And once that veneer cracked, the avalanche rolled.
UP took the Battle of Katipunan, 83–69.
NU sunk their teeth on Eagles’ flesh in, 71–66.
UST dragged them into triple overtime and mangled the Eagles on their own floor, 98–89.
That was the beginning of the descent to 6-8 — the journey down from the hill.
And from that point on, every opponent simply borrowed from the La Salle second-half script: tighten the shell, shade the drivers, make them uncomfortable, and force the trio into playing east-west instead of downhill.
So as the season’s fork in the road finally came into focus — La Salle marching forward, Ateneo crashing out — just remember this:
In Season 88, it was La Salle that snapped the spell, exposed the cracks, and ruined Ateneo’s season.
It may or may not be true, as basketball experts will surely share a ton of basketball reasons why Ateneo dropped from being a contender to a semi-final outsider.
But the La Sallians in us would always buy this story.
Every.
Single.
Day.
ANIMO LA SALLE!!!
True to every detail😝😍😍😍😎😂😁