Games Tuesday
(Mall of Asia Arena)
10 a.m. – UE vs AdU
1 p.m. – Ateneo vs FEU
4 p.m. – NU vs DLSU
7 p.m. – UP vs UST
By CARLO ANOLIN
Only two teams will remain unscathed as reigning champion Ateneo takes on Far Eastern University while National University clashes with De La Salle in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Ateneo will continue to lean on the services of returnee Dave Ildefonso, veteran Raffy Verano and big man Ange Kouame while FEU will bank on the speedy and sharp-shooting RJ Abarrientos, who had an explosive UAAP debut with 18 points on top of four triples. five rebounds, and two assists against University of Santo Tomas in the Saturday opener.
Aside from Abarrientos, Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin is wary of the threat brought by FEU guard LJ Gonzales, who suffered a sprain during practice prior to opening day, when the Blue Eagles meet the Tamaraws at 1 p.m.
At the 4 p.m. tip off., NU and De La Salle hope to finish strong this time as both teams averted a meltdown against Adamson and University of the East in their respective opening games.
Janjan Felicilda and Jake Figueroa will lead the Bulldogs while Fil-Am guard Deschon Winston, who had an exceptional debut with 22 points, six rebounds, and three steals, Justine Baltazar, and Evan Nelle will spearhead the Archers.
CJ Cansino, who also had an explosive outing in his first game with UP with 21 points with five rebounds and three steals, will meet his former squad UST to cap off the quadruple-header at 7 p.m.
UP also has key cogs in big man Malick Diouf, Carl Tamayo, and Ricci Rivero while UST, led by Joshua Fontanilla, will try to find its shooting touch from beyond the arc.
UE and Adamson will battle it out at 10 a.m.
Nico Paranada and Harvey Pagsanjan are expected to deliver for the Red Warriors while Jerom Lastimosa, with the help of Ahmad Hanapi and Jose Manuel Sabandal, is out to put on a dazzling show anew for the Falcons.
