Pressure mounts as Ayo, Archers brace for sweep

MANILA, Philippines – As La Salle stands on the threshold of the coveted UAAP LXXIX championship, the burden that Green Archers coach Aldin Ayo carries on his shoulders gets heavier and heavier.

“Siyempre, malaking pressure. Hindi nga lang nationwide eh, world-wide. Kasi iyung mga alumni na nasa ibang bansa, message nang message sa akin. (There’s tremendous pressure, of course. Not just nationwide but the expectations are actually world-wide considering the message from overseas-based alumni),” said Ayo.

“It’s a big responsibility,” he stressed.

The Green Archers squandered a 15-point lead but regrouped in the final stretch to eke out a 67-65 win over the hard-fighting Ateneo Eagles in the opener of the race-to-two finals Saturday.

The Taft-based squad, the consensus favorites since the summer, can wrap it all up on Wednesday.

“Ayaw ko mag-predict (I don’t want to predict if it will be a 2-0 sweep). We’re just going to do our best in Game Two,” said Ayo, looking to personally score a Cinderella title run with the Archers.

The DLSU mentor didn’t need to exert extra effort to motivate his wards to play their very best against the Eagles.

In Game One, all Ayo had to do was scribble a six-letter word on their board to push the right buttons.

“He didn’t say anything; he just wrote on the board ‘Ateneo’” said guard Kib Montalbo. “It’s Ateneo, we don’t wanna lose to Ateneo. Personally, I wanna beat Ateneo so bad.”