The biggest rivals in Philippine college basketball meet anew on the court this weekend, as La Salle and Ateneo, fight it out for school pride. Even NBA player Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards, describes an Ateneo-La Salle game as, "you split the crowd in half, 50-50. One side of their gym was blue and one side of their gym was green and everybody was just yelling."
Writer Karl Bustamante, La Salle alumnus and one of the Archers' biggest fans, tells us why the Archers are way better than the Eagles:
10. La Salle is known for their dreaded full court press. Ateneo is known for… Chris Tiu.
Ever since Franz Pumaren took over coaching duties in La Salle in 1998, the squad has been known for their full court press. Even 2002 Ateneo head coach Joel Banal admitted to having nightmares because of DLSU's press. Ateneo isn't known for any kind of play. Just Chris Tiu.
A fan video of Chris Tiu.
9. La Salle sticks to the 4-year limit of student players in the UAAP. Ateneo let Chris Tiu (among others) stay another extra year.
Ryan Arana, Mark Cardona, Joseph Yeo, and Rico Maierhoffer all graduated when they were supposed to and moved to the PBA. LA Tenorio, Ford Arao, Wesley Gonzales, Doug Kramer, and Chris Tiu all opted to stay one more year just to play in the UAAP. Can you say "terminal"?
