Defending champion Ateneo is looking to exact revenge on second seed National University in the second round of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Blue Eagles, who are struggling to steady their ship and wound up with a 4-5 record in the standings before the break, tussle with the Bulldogs (7-2) at 4 p.m. of the double header.

Rookie Mason Amos has recently been Ateneo’s reliable force on the offensive end, and should likely help them get back on the win column following two straight losses including their previous 65-60 defeat against University of the Philippines.

While Jared Brown and Joseph Obasa have put Ateneo on their backs, Amos has been significant especially from the outside in crucial stretches.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are itching to bounce back after suffering an 88-78 loss to Kevin Quiambao-led De La Salle Green Archers.

Despite NU’s balanced attack, Quiambao’s historic triple-double and league-record 14 assists helped La Salle come out on top as a payback during their first-round encounter.

La Salle’s sweet revenge should inspire Ateneo as NU also defeated them in their season-opening game.

In the earlier play, Adamson (4-5) and University of Santo Tomas (1-8) are set to clash at 2 p.m.

Adamson head coach Nash Racela remained optimistic that the Soaring Falcons have a fighting chance to be back on the Final Four race after a much-needed 63-54 victory over Far Eastern University Tamaraws last week.

However, the Soaring Falcons will officially be without their star guard Jerom Lastimosa, who just ended his final year with the team after confirming that he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear during their game against the Fighting Maroons.

Lastimosa has been out for Adamson since the first round and made his debut in the opening game of the second round, but had to be carried out of the court in the third quarter.

On the other hand, the Growling Tigers couldn’t follow up their morale-boosting win against the Tamaraws which ended their 19-game slide and have since continued to struggle in their past two matches.