Ateneo’s one-and-done talents were able to experience the electrifying atmosphere of a storied UAAP rivalry.
As two one-and-done talents coming from the United States, Dom Escobar and Kymani Ladi arrived in Manila knowing little about the storied rivalry between their Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Archers.
Although their alumni made sure to highlight what the rivalry meant in university lore, no history lesson would prepare them for the packed sea of blue and green, the iconic school chants, and a tension that could be felt throughout the 40-minute ballgame.
Both Escobar and Ladi were able to experience all that on Sunday, October 5, as the Blue Eagles met the Green Archers for the first time in UAAP Season 88. Safe to say, it was a huge departure from what they were used to in the States with Cal State LA, and Merritt College in Oakland.
“Man, it was something that I never experienced before. But the coaches and all the former players, they emphasized how much this rivalry meant to them and they take a lot of pride with it,” Escobar reflected after the Eagles survived a late DLSU rally to pull out an 81-74 victory at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“Just with our preparation throughout this whole week, it kind of gives you that extra edge to play harder and make sure that we come out with a win,” Escobar continued. “But like I said, it’s nothing like I’ve never experienced and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”
While they were new to the storied rivalry, Escobar and Ladi showed little to no jitters on Sunday evening as they finished with 15 points apiece. Escobar, who added nine rebounds, showed the way for the Eagles as they feasted on the Archers’ defense throughout the first half of play.
Ladi, meanwhile, came alive after halftime, with 12 of his 15 points coming in Ateneo’s fiery third quarter. Similar to Escobar, the lanky big man also finished with nine rebounds en route to Ateneo’s first win over DLSU since UAAP Season 86 two years ago.
“The crowd was electric! And it was a different feeling that I’ve never felt. But you know? I love that energy from the crowd and it fires me up and makes me play a little bit harder,” Ladi told The GAME in a follow-up interview.
“I was always kind of thinking how I would play in front of this crowd and how I would react to some of the opposing teams’ crowds…Being able to play against this crowd is a fun feeling, you know? I’ve never really played against this rivalry; so just being able to play against this type of crowd is very cool.”
Given the support they received from the alumni, Ladi is glad that he and Ateneo can return to Katipunan with a win over their archrivals in Taft.
“We already played La Salle in AsiaBasket so I kinda got a history of what the rivalry was before this game. But you know? There’s a lot of people like our alumni and our coaches just telling me that ‘we need this win, we need this win’. So I’m glad that we got it and we really fought to the end.”
Banner images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.