By NIKOLE JAVIER
Ateneo guns for its third straight win when it battles Adamson in the second round of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Blue Eagles will ride the efforts of their reliable seniors in reigning Most Valuable Player Ange Kouame along with Dave Ildefonso and Bj Andrade as they take the matters into their own hands for a guaranteed seat in the playoffs.
After climbing to a 5-2 record, Ateneo is looking for ways to make its ball rotation more efficient in the 4 p.m. tipoff against the Jerom Lastimosa-led Adamson who dropped a career-high 29 points in their overtime victory against De La Salle last Oct. 22 to pick up their third win against four losses.
Meanwhile, La Salle braces for University of Santo Tomas when they face each other in the curtain-raiser at 2 p.m.
The Green Archers went on a two-game losing spell before the tournament—the latest against the Soaring Falcons in overtime, 87-84, that sent them down the standings at 3-4.
La Salle will bank on its scoring leader Schonny Winston who topped the stats after averaging 29.21 points per contest to give itself a boost after losing grip of the tight battle in the standings.
The Growling Tigers, on the other end, had nothing else going on for them after taking their lone victory in the opening round and have since fallen into a 1-6 hole.