A healthy rivalry

Pacesetting Ateneo (6-1) and third placer La Salle (5-2) face off to open their second round assignments in the UAAP men’s senior basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum this afternoon. They weren’t originally supposed to tangle until Aug. 23 but issues involving other schools forced season host UE to revert to the non-debatable pairing formula as stipulated in the UAAP By-Laws.

Last Wednesday, the UAAP Board met to take up the case of UP swimmer Mikee Bartolome and UE took the opportunity to pass around a draft of the second round schedule. The meeting was held before the doubleheader that ended the first round that day. The draft didn’t go by the pairing formula of No. 1 vs. No. 3, No. 2 vs. No. 4 to start the second round as UE, being the host school, thought of making adjustments to consider media and commercial factors. In the past, host schools did the same so it wasn’t as if veering away from the formula had no precedent.

UST was initially marked down to play Ateneo and La Salle to meet UP on Saturday (yesterday) to kick off the second round. Under the pairing formula, UST would play Adamson first. UST protested the switch. Because center Karim Abdul is still out with a viral infection, the Tigers relished the idea of playing lowly Adamson instead of heavyweight Ateneo. FEU also had a concern because coach Nash Racela would be away to backstop Chot Reyes with Gilas at the FIBA World Cup in Spain starting Aug. 24. FEU asked if the Tamaraws’ games could be rescheduled to allow for Racela’s attendance.

With the concerns raised at the meeting, UE promised to email a revised schedule the next morning (Thursday). But as it turned out, the revised schedule only made time adjustments (from 2 to 4 p.m. or 4 p.m. to 2) and retained the pairings. UST protested vehemently and reportedly said the Tigers wouldn’t show up if UE forced them to play Ateneo on Saturday. So to avert a full-blown boardroom war, UE decided to stick to the pairing formula.

At first, UE attempted to schedule the Ateneo-La Salle game this Wednesday but ABS-CBN wouldn’t agree because of sponsor commitments. Ateneo-La Salle is the biggest grossing game in the schedule so UE and ABS-CBN tried to find the best available spot in the calendar. It couldn’t be Saturday because of the logistical nightmare of distributing tickets at short notice. Sunday was the compromise.

It’s a pity that UE’s discretion was overruled for partisan reasons. UE’s original idea was for the good of the league, not for any one or two teams. The host school wanted to do what was best for the league to maximize media values and generate escalating interest up to the end of the eliminations. The pairing formula doesn’t really make sense – it’s a provision in the ByLaws that has outlived its usefulness.

In a league like the PBA or NBA, scheduling is the responsibility of the commissioner because he is non-partisan. It should be the same in the UAAP. Unfortunately, the UAAP commissioner had no knowledge of the negotiations that transpired in deciding what schedule to follow in the second round. It must be pointed out that the provision in the ByLaws was made precisely to neutralize any partisanship as it rules out debate but surely, there are overriding league considerations that may come into play. Here is where the commissioner should step in.

At any rate, fans are expected to jam the Big Dome for the Big Game this afternoon. From a promotions standpoint, it would’ve made more sense to schedule the contest between Ateneo and La Salle late in the second round. But that’s now an academic issue. La Salle is on a five-game winning streak but with a lot of players in the injured list, the Archers would surely like to activate assistant coach Allan Caidic if only they could. Ateneo is also on a hot streak, winning the Blue Eagles’ last three after losing, 64-60, to NU. La Salle opened the season bowing to FEU, 82-77, and Ateneo, 97-86.

So far, the Eagles are outshining the Archers in several departments – they’re averaging 79.9 points to La Salle’s 72.0, hitting at a higher three-point clip, 33.1 percent to 22.1, shooting a higher free throw percentage, 73.1 to 66.9, blocking more shots a game, 4.1 to 2.9 and turning the ball over less, 14.7 to 18.3. La Salle, however, is tougher on defense, giving up 66.1 points to Ateneo’s 73.1 and surrendering only 35.1 field goal percentage to the Eagles’ 41.6. The Archers are grabbing more rebounds, 46.1 to 41.1 and issuing more assists, 15.6 to 14.4.

All eyes will be on Ateneo’s chief gunner Kiefer Ravena and La Salle’s King Archer Jeron Teng. Ravena is averaging 23.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 37.4 percent from the floor and 74 percent from the line. He’s taking 11 free throw attempts a game. Teng is averaging 15.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting 36.1 percent from the floor and 69.6 percent from the stripe. More than the two superstars, the opposing coaches will look to the supporting cast to make a difference. Ateneo’s Bo Perasol has reliables in Chris Newsome, Von Pessumal, Nico Elorde and rookie Arvin Tolentino while La Salle’s Juno Sauler will lean on Jason Perkins, Almond Vosotros, rookie Julian Sargent and if they’re available, Norbert Torres, Kib Montalbo and Arnold van Opstal.

University of St. La Salle Bacolod president Br. Ray Suplido described the Archers-Eagles rivalry as healthy. “It pushes the two schools to achieve or maintain the quality of their athletics or academic programs,” he said. “Even within families, there are bloodlines that are traced to both schools and that’s healthy competition. Back in the day, when NCAA games were home and away, whenever the La Salle-Ateneo games were held at Rizal, the La Salle brothers would invite the Jesuits to dinner after and over at Loyola, the Jesuits would do the same. That’s how it was before.”

Br. Ray’s older brother Monsignor Rufino is Jesuit-trained and finished at the San Jose Seminary on the Loyola campus. Monsignor Rufino studied at La Salle Bacolod grade school before moving to the seminary and worked many years with Fr. James Reuter in media. Br. Ray said Monsignor Rufino is probably more blue than green.

“Ray and I used to watch La Salle-Ateneo games during the NCAA years,” said Monsignor Rufino. “I remember once at the Ateneo gym, both schools played and long after the game was over, the fans in the stands still kept cheering. It was a wonderful show of spirit and school loyalty. That’s what I remember of that game. I don’t even remember which team won.”

La Salle and Ateneo backers should be reminded that while the final score is important, it isn’t the only thing that’s important. As Monsignor Rufino mentioned, what will remain in everyone’s mind after a game is how it was played, the sportsmanship displayed by the players, how the cheering went, the fun that was enjoyed and yes, the healthy rivalry.