Ateneo vs La Salle a game like no other - Black

By Jonas Terrado - Manila Bulletin - September 20, 2008

Norman Black has been to many championship matches, but is still awed every time Ateneo and La Salle meet on the court.

"The atmosphere is just electric," Black mentioned. "I mean in an Ateneo-La Salle game you look up, coaches are not supposed to do this but every now and then I just looked around and say ‘this is unbelievable’ half the arena is green, half the arena is blue and everybody’s standing up at the same time and standing up almost the entire game."

Black compares the college rivalry to the legendary Crispa-Toyota tussle in the early days of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) that saw the likes of Robert Jaworski, Mon Fernandez and Francis Arnaiz battling it out against Philip Cezar, Abet Guidaben and Atoy Co.

"I think it’s comparable because back in the days, the personalities involved were very popular," said Black. "It was really intense. When I played for San Miguel, Tefilin and Great Taste back then, for us to beat those teams it was really a big deal."

Black, a multi-titled PBA coach, is hoping to win his first UAAP crown for Ateneo.

The long-time Philippine resident graced the weekly SCOOP sa Kamayan forum yesterday along with La Salle coach Franz Pumaren.

Pumaren said the rivalry goes beyond the pre-war era of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

"I’m really amazed about the publicity that has been generating," said Pumaren. "It’s a battle of not only in sports but it’s always a subject of debate as to who is the better school."

"From what I heard, the food stores around Araneta, just one Ateneo-La Salle game is more than you know at least half of maybe a season for a PBA game," Pumaren added.

The Eagles and the Archers are battling for the UAAP title for the fourth time since 1988. That was when the Eagles defeated the Archers, 75-66, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Thirteen years later, the two teams met again in the finals with La Salle winning in three hard-fought games.

That year, Renren Ritualo, Mike Cortez and seldom-used Carlos Sharma beating Enrico Villanueva and the Eagles, 93-88, in the rubber match.

The following year, the Eagles avenged that defeat by edging the Archers, 77-70, in sudden death. Villanueva and Wesley Gonzales led the way while holding Cortez to just 2-of-13 shooting for 13 points.

The two rivals also fought thrice in the finals in the NCAA with the Archers holding a 2-1 edge with their first meeting going as far back as 1939 when the Archers defeated the Eagles.

Going back to their showdown, both coaches believe that it will go down to the key players of both teams aside from the anticipated battle between skippers Chris Tiu and JV Casio.

"The matchup between JV Casio and Chris Tiu is just a side attraction, the main attraction here is the match between Ateneo and La Salle," Pumaren said. "As you know the series will not depend on one or two, it will depend on the performance of the team."

"I think the two are probably the faces of both teams but for us its not going to be Chris and JV," Black said. "We have a lot more concerns other than JV, he is our number one concern but we have to worry about their other players such as Rico Maierhofer and their perimeter shooting."