The Ateneo Blue Eagles take a shot at redemption when they face 4th-ranked Adamson in the first stepladder semis game of UAAP Season 88 women's basketball.
The Ateneo Blue Eagles will be eager to get things back in order after ending the elimination round of UAAP Season 88 on a two-game losing slump, capped by a heartbreaking 73-72 loss to long-time rivals DLSU Lady Archers.
Despite finishing as the third seed, the two losses left a bitter taste in the mouth — especially for head coach LA Mumar who made sure to get his point across in their post-game huddle.
Going into Sunday’s game against the 4th seed Adamson Lady Falcons, Ateneo will be playing with a chip on their shoulder.
Not only had Adamson beat them in their penultimate game of the elimination round, they were also the ones who eliminated the Blue Eagles from title contention in UAAP Season 87.
For Mumar, there needs to be significant change for his players if they want to finish better than fourth place.
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“The way I'm looking at it is, this has to be a lesson for us. Undisciplined and lack of effort will not get us to where we want to be. So the positive thing here is, I hope we learned our lesson the past two games, and that we'll come out guns blazing on Sunday,” he told One Sports after the La Salle loss.
Not all is lost
Even if the ending was more unfortunate that he imagined, Mumar was happy to do enough to keep themselves in the fight at the end of the elimination round, albeit now limping to the stepladder semis.
With their minds set on redemption, Mumar hopes that the setbacks will only fuel their motivations to take the next step to their season — especially with two-time MVP Kacey Dela Rosa leading the charge.
“I think, of course, they're a little bit discouraged, but if you really take a look at it, we afforded ourselves two non-bearing games. And I think after talking to them, I'm sure it will be bad tonight, but our 24-hour rule, hopefully by tomorrow, and I know the girls will respond in a good way,” Mumar said.
“So I hope we learned our lesson, so that we can come out with a great performance this Sunday.”
Facing a quick turnaround against Adamson, Mumar is banking on familiarity — and maybe a little bit of animosity — to hopefully spur on his players.
“I think the girls will respond. I know my team, and I think we know we can get over Adamson. So it's just really a matter of going back to our fundamentals,” he said.
Ateneo battles Adamson for the right to face second-seed NU in the next rung of the stepladder semifinals on Sunday, November 30, at the Mall of Asia Arena at 10:30 a.m.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.