Ateneo, La Salle have high hopes for rookies this UAAP juniors season

Posted at 8:11 pm July 07, 2010

Tags: Basketball, UAAP

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Marjorie Gorospe

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QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA – Rival schools Ateneo and De La Salle will parade a handful of rookies this coming Season 73 of the UAAP juniors basketball.

The Eaglets, back-to-back defending champs, will welcome 11 rookies joining star players Kiefer Ravena and Von Pessumal.

“There’s always a pressure being a defending champion because everybody wants to have what we have,” admits Ateneo coach Jamike Jarin. He recalls a bad start by the Eaglets last season that eventually ended on a high note after beating the Junior Archers lifted by Ravena.

Because of his outstanding performance last season, Ravena is expected to become a marked man this time so his coach is making sure his star player is ready for the challenge.

“I tell him that teams will always look for him but then again, this is not Kiefer’s team but Ateneo’s team and we’d like him to lead for us,” Jarin says.

The Junior Archers, meanwhile, are also revamping their line-up, says coach Boris Aldeguer.

“It’s a tough year for us but just the same, we will give our best and double our effort to at least enter the Final Four,” says Aldeguer. Aside from Ateneo, he also picks Far Eastern University and University of Santo Tomas as title contenders this season.

La Salle will be without Gwyne Capacio and Nico Elorde and will rely on Mikey Capacio and Mico Ferrer to carry the load this season.

The FEU Baby Tamaraws, meanwhile, will be missing scoring wiz Terrence Romeo. According to coach Horacio Lim, the team has a problem on rotation especially now that their go-to guy Jecrix Roño got injured and cannot play this season.

“We need team effort if we want to make it to the Final Four,” says Lim, noting he considers FEU a “dark horse” to win snatch the crown away from stronger rivals this year.

Schedule of games can be viewed on the official UAAP website.