By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE ELIMINATION round of University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 82 hits its final play date today with the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons looking to prevent a sweep of the games by the defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Set for 4 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena, the Maroons (9-4), who secured second spot in the race in their victory in their previous game, are out to avert a shutout of the eliminations by the Eagles (13-0) and exact some payback on the latter for the first-round defeat they were dealt with.

A win by UP over Ateneo today sends the semifinals to a traditional Final Four format with the top two teams earning a twice-to-beat advantage. An Ateneo victory, however, renders the semifinal round a step-ladder with the Eagles earning a direct entry into the finals.

In their first game in the opening round on Sept. 29, the Eagles gave the Maroons a solid reality check, winning by 26 points, 89-63.

Ateneo found themselves in a bind early in the said contest but collectively made the necessary adjustments on both ends of the court from the second quarter onwards to outsprint UP on its way to the big win.

Making matters worse for the Maroons was that they saw head coach Bo Perasol tossed out from the game midway because of excessive complaining, which also led to his two-game suspension by the UAAP after.

Heading into today’s game UP is on a three-game winning streak, including a gutsy 71-68 triumph over the De La Salle Green Archers on Oct. 27 which sealed for them the second spot.

Key plays by Bright Akhuetie, Kobe Paras and Jun Manzo gave the Maroons the push they needed down the stretch to survive and earn the victory.

Akhuetie led the Maroons in the win with 17 points and 10 rebounds with Manzo and Ricci Rivero adding 12 points apiece. Manzo also had eight assists. Paras, meanwhile, finished with 10 points.

For his steady effort against La Salle, Manzo sealed player of the week honors from the UAAP press corps, beating the likes of Ateneo’s Angelo Kouame, Rhenz Abando of University of Santo Tomas and Wendell Comboy of Far Eastern University.

Zeroing in on their game against Ateneo today, Mr. Perasol admitted that they have their work cut out for them but vowed to go all out and give their best to notch the victory. “What can I say about Ateneo? We just have to come out really strong. We have two days to prepare against them, we’ll give it our best shot. They’re not the champion for nothing. But we will give it our best shot,” said the UP coach after their win on Sunday.

On the part of Ateneo, which is angling for a third UAAP title this season, it said it knows that it is in a good position to give its title defense a huge boost with a win today but is more concerned on playing its best on the court whether it leads to a sweep or not.

“Nothing changes. Next game is the last game. I understand that is a sweep or not a sweep but again, those are just minor issues for us. The major issue for us is how we play against UP,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin following their 13th win of the season on Oct. 26 at the expense of the National University Bulldogs, 88-51.

The Eagles have been impressive and unforgiving in their last two matches, winning by an average margin of 35.5 points.

Also playing today and wrapping up their campaign this season are already eliminated University of the East (3-10) and NU (2-11) at 10:30 a.m. and La Salle (6-7) and Adamson University (4-9) at 12:30 p.m.

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