The Mall of Asia Arena this afternoon will be host to the do-or-die
Final Four matchup between Ateneo de Manila and Far Eastern University. Tip-off is slated to take place at around 4pm.
With their season on the line last Sunday, the Tamaraws did not want to end their season yet, stunning the top-seeded Blue Eagles, 80-67 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum, setting up the sudden-death matchup later.
FEU relied on a total team effort, especially on the defensive end, holding Ateneo to their season-low scoring output, and preventing any comeback late, sending them to back-to-back losses after winning their first thirteen games.
Still, head coach Olsen Racela continues to stress the points that FEU still has a lot of work to do, noting that "we haven't done anything yet." The first-year head coach also expects his counterpart, Tab Baldwin, to make key adjustments ahead of their match. "Alam ko with coach Tab, ang daming plano yan to counter what we did today."
The former Ateneo point guard thinks that the Tamaraws are peaking at the right time, looking to return to the finals where they won the championship back in 2015. As a first-time head coach, he also relishes the opportunity to learn against the the top coaches of the league.
As for Baldwin, he credits FEU's preparations and how the Tamaraws implemented their gameplan last weekend as to how they were successful against the Blue Eagles. He also pointed out that the team's confidence went down as a result of their inability to convert the shots they would normally make.
The former national team head coach does expect Ateneo to respond and re-discover their morale. "It's there. There is no question that it's still there," he says, believing that a couple of days would be enough to find their groove back.
With their season on the line last Sunday, the Tamaraws did not want to end their season yet, stunning the top-seeded Blue Eagles, 80-67 at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum, setting up the sudden-death matchup later.
FEU relied on a total team effort, especially on the defensive end, holding Ateneo to their season-low scoring output, and preventing any comeback late, sending them to back-to-back losses after winning their first thirteen games.
Still, head coach Olsen Racela continues to stress the points that FEU still has a lot of work to do, noting that "we haven't done anything yet." The first-year head coach also expects his counterpart, Tab Baldwin, to make key adjustments ahead of their match. "Alam ko with coach Tab, ang daming plano yan to counter what we did today."
The former Ateneo point guard thinks that the Tamaraws are peaking at the right time, looking to return to the finals where they won the championship back in 2015. As a first-time head coach, he also relishes the opportunity to learn against the the top coaches of the league.
As for Baldwin, he credits FEU's preparations and how the Tamaraws implemented their gameplan last weekend as to how they were successful against the Blue Eagles. He also pointed out that the team's confidence went down as a result of their inability to convert the shots they would normally make.
The former national team head coach does expect Ateneo to respond and re-discover their morale. "It's there. There is no question that it's still there," he says, believing that a couple of days would be enough to find their groove back.
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