Eagles seek 5th straight vs Tigers

Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

2 p.m. – FEU vs NU

4 p.m. – AdMU vs UST

 MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga warns the league-leading Blue Eagles against getting lulled into complacency as they face slumping University of Santo Tomas today in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tourney at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“We can’t be complacent and think we’re 4-0 (win-loss). We can’t fall into the trap of enjoying our record. We gotta stay focused on our next game,” said Arespacochaga ahead of the 4 p.m. top-versus-bottom encounter.

Like a well-oiled machine, the Eagles have methodically dismantled their first four rivals this season, winning by an average margin of 17.75. Still, the high-flying Ateneans are far from hitting their best form.

“There’s a lot of things we can still improve on,” said Arespacochaga, citing as example their 16 turnovers in their 83-65 rout of winless University of the East last Sunday. “We had a lot of turnovers, unforced turnovers so that’s one of the things we’ll look at and be upset about.”

The Tigers played one of their better games last Saturday, taking a 10-point lead against Far Eastern only to fade in the last 20 minutes and let what could have been a breakthrough win slip away.

Meanwhile, the Tams (2-2) and the National U Bulldogs (2-2) dispute solo fourth in the 2 p.m. first game.