By Joey Villar (The Philippine Star)


Lawrence Chongson and Norman Black


MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo and University of the East finally get the chance to slug it out after a four-day delay brought about by the recent killer typhoon, both raring to gain the headstart in the best-of-three series for the UAAP men’s basketball crown at the Araneta Coliseum today.

The desire to win and the ability to put on hold pent-up emotions in the wake of the massive devastation wrought by tropical storm “Ondoy” over the weekend will be the two teams’ goal as they go for the early edge in a short series tipped to go down-to-the-wire.

“It’s sad that there’s suffering around us because of the storm,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black, whose team resumed practice only Monday due to the absence of several of his players who were among those affected by the typhoon.

“But we have to move on and concentrate on the task at hand, which is to be ready for this championship series,” said Black.

The top-seeded Eagles, who swept the La Salle Archers in last year’s finale, thumped the UST Tigers, 81-64, in the Final Four and have been installed as the slight pick following the ouster of pre-tournament favorite FEU Tams.

The Warriors, playing with sheer determination, upended the Tams who reeled from the absence of top scorer Mark Barroca as they essayed back-to-back wins, 84-74, and 78-72, to clinch the other finals berth.

But like his counterpart, UE mentor Lawrence Chongson, who boasts of players with vast PBL experience, said they would play with a heavy heart in the aftermath of the destruction and deaths caused by “Ondoy.”

“Realistically, it would be difficult to play basketball during these sad, hard times,” said Chongson, “But we have worked so hard to get to where we are right now and we really want the championship so bad.”

He added the recent tragedy should be a learning experience to everyone.

“The tragedy that hit us would serve as an additional motivation, the lesson that I’m going to impart to my boys is that we must seize the day, do our best every time we can and not take anything for granted. We survivors can only make this tragedy a lesson in life,” Chongson said.

Expect the Eagles to use their vaunted defense to stifle the UE gunners and former MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini to impose his height and heft in the shaded lane.

“We will be the same in defense, keep the opposing players out in the middle and force them to take outside shots and get rebounds when they miss. That’s really our main strength the whole season,” said Black.

He added Ateneo plays nearly the same as UE.

“I think UE also plays good defense that people don’t give them credit for,” said Black. “The only difference is that we have a more structured offense, which means we don’t take shots that much.

“They’re also good with their two-man game like the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop, which we need to watch out for,” he added.

Black also stressed the need to shackle the prolific Paul Lee, who exploded for 43 points in two wins over the Tams in the Final Four.

“I don’t think we can stop Paul Lee. His confidence is high, he’s on a roll. Hopefully, what we can do is to contain him and limit his shots because he’s a major part of UE’s offense,” said Black.

Chongson, for his part, thinks they could match up well with the Eagles.