Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 13) — The Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles and University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons will collide for one last time as they battle for the UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball crown in Game 3 of the finals tonight at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Blue Eagles are aiming to extend their dominance on the hardcourt as they seek a four-peat. On the other hand, the Fighting Maroons want to end a 36-year title drought.
Facing a do-or-die match for the first time since 2017, Ateneo pulled off a 69-66 victory against UP in Game 2 behind the strong performance from newly crowned Most Valuable Player Angelo Kouame.
The Fighting Maroons have shown that no lead was safe against them in this series. They rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final quarter of Game 1 to force overtime, where they eventually won by seven points. In Game 2, they erased a 15-point lead but the Blue Eagles held them off in the last two minutes of the match.
Rebounding would be the key to winning this match. UP won Game 1 by a hair, 51 to 50, while Ateneo took Game 2, 49 to 42. Expect both squads to fight for every possession like their lives depended on it.
This would be the 13th time that the Final Four era UAAP finals reached Game 3. Previously, the team that won Game 2 went on to win the series five out of the 12 times.
But as history has shown, stats barely matter in a do-or-die game.
