MANILA — Just four days after taking on each other in the UAAP 3x3 men's final, Cignal-Ateneo and University of Santo Tomas will face off again, this time in the traditional 5-on-5 basketball game.
The Blue Eagles and the Growling Tigers will collide on March 7 in one of three scheduled PBA D-League matches at the Paco Arena.
In the 2 p.m. game, Ange Kouame, Thirdy Ravena, Matt Nieto, and Matthew Daves look to repeat their 19-13 win over the group of Soulemane Chabi Yo, Rhenz Abando, Renzo Subido, and Dave Ando in the UAAP 3x3 final on Sunday, and they have more backup as the rest of the Ateneo team led by Mike Nieto and Tyler Tio will be with them.
But just like its opponent, UST will also be in full force with Mark Nonoy, who was recently named into the "NBTC 24", looks to continue building up for his upcoming college stint along with his fellow Thomasians.
Considering how the 3x3 final went, many could see this as a potential preseason preview of a UAAP playoff next season especially that they are both 2-0 in the standings in the Aspirants Division.
"This is more just pure competition than a real team performance for our guys," said Cignal-Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
"[It's a] good opportunity for us na makalaban sila (to face them) this early. At least malalaman namin kung hanggang saan yung nararating naming (we will know how far we have achieved). It will be a good game for us," added UST mentor Aldin Ayo.
In the other games, Virtual Reality-St. Clare and Che'Lu, both also unbeaten in the Aspirants Division, will face off at 12 p.m., while FamilyMart-Enderun and Go For Gold-CSB will gun for their first win against each other at 4 p.m. (PNA)
