It’s back—the biggest, baddest showdown in Philippine sports is hitting the Mall of Asia Arena, and every fan in green or blue knows this is no regular season game. The De La Salle Green Archers have a shot at an ego-boosting sweep of the Ateneo Blue Eagles, looking to sustain that drive to lock in that twice-to-beat edge and keep pole position in the standings.
Coming off a seven-game tear since that early-season stumble to UE, La Salle has been rolling over the competition.
On the other hand, Ateneo has strung together two wins of its own, clawing up to 3-6, and they’re right in the mix in a wild five-team race for the last spot in the Final Four.
It’s a true momentum match: will La Salle keep their streak going, or will Ateneo find the mojo to turn their own into something real? Let’s take a look.
The First Clash: Breaking Down Round One
Back in Round One, this game had everything you expect from La Salle-Ateneo—back-and-forth scoring runs, an arena that felt like it could explode at any moment. La Salle went up by eight in the first half, only to see Ateneo come back with a rare three-point outburst, tying it up at 40 before halftime.
But La Salle came out swinging in the third, completely jamming Ateneo’s offense and outscoring them 18-2 to end the quarter up 60-44. By the final buzzer, La Salle had stretched that lead to a comfy 74-61.
Motor Mike Phillips was in prime form, with 13 points and 14 rebounds, backed by a loaded line from Kevin Quiambao, who added 13 points, 13 boards, and seven assists. It was the perfect illustration of what La Salle’s been doing all season—control the boards, grind the game, and let their defense spark the offense.
Rivalry X-Factors: Throw Out the Script
Ateneo found itself on the wrong side of some brutal shooting luck, especially from deep, managing just 15% on threes. But if you know anything about a Tab Baldwin team, you know they’ll find a way to get points on the board somehow. When the shots from deep stopped falling, Ateneo turned to midrange and inside looks, clawing back however they could.
And credit to La Salle’s defense here—they blitzed rookie Jared Bahay at every turn, knowing that if the kid found any rhythm, Ateneo’s offense would go from clunky to flowing in a heartbeat. But Bahay never got going, and Ateneo’s offense never clicked.
The numbers tell the story: La Salle shot 39.4% to Ateneo’s 33%, dominated the boards 62-38, and got 38 points from a bench that overwhelmed Ateneo’s reserves, who put up just 19. And none of that was a fluke—La Salle’s been hammering teams on the boards all season, averaging 50 per game, while Ateneo’s shooting and rebounding woes have been a season-long story.
Has Ateneo Turned a Corner?
With two close wins—one over National U by a whisker (70-68) and another gritty one over UST (67-64)—Ateneo fans are hoping this could be the start of something.
But is it?
Well, the numbers say they’ve upped their three-point shooting to a still-shaky 30% and boosted their rebounding slightly to 44 per game. The real change is that they’re now more willing to create their own shots, which has dropped their assists but spiked their turnovers to 20 per game. This isn’t a well-oiled machine yet; it’s a team that’s just learning to win tough games by any means necessary.
The Rivalry Magic: Where Stats Go to Die
If you’ve been a La Salle or Ateneo fan long enough, you know that once this rivalry hits, it’s like the stat sheets might as well be kindling. This game has a way of defying all reason, pulling out performances and plot twists that stay etched in our minds and give us endless fuel for trash talk and bragging rights.
So here we are: Will La Salle continue their winning ways and boost that chance to lock up that twice-to-beat advantage, or will Ateneo steal a win to keep their Final Four hopes alive?
We’ll know soon enough, and rest assured, those chants will be loud and proud:
ANIMO LA SALLE!
BEAT ATENEO!!!
