A rematch seems to be in the offing after the exciting charity showdown between archrivals Ateneo and La Salle ended in a draw at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday night.
 
The final score at the first PBA Ateneo vs La Salle Showdown was chalked at 90-all, thus turning it to another “unfinished business.”
 
“The battle for bragging rights between the arch rivals was not resolved. I certainly welcome a rematch between these two teams, more so if it’s for a cause,” said PBA board chairman Tony Chua, the man behind the game held for the benefit of the Players Educational Trust Fund.
 
Even Atenean Enrico Villanueva echoed this sentiment. "Ateneo-La Salle eh, siyempre, we wanted to win, pero parang Pacquiao-Marquez to – unfinished business,” he said.
 
It was a tie for former Ateneo and La Salle hard court heroes when their professional players went on a head on collision at an exciting charity showdown at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday night. The score was chalked at 90-all.
 
The game proved to be a thrilling ride for both teams as the Eagles stalked arch rival Archers for the first three quarters. They went on a striking distance and even led at the fourth quarter at 90-88.
 
Archer Mike Cortez, however, was the saving grace for La Salle as he capped the game even with two charity shots.
 
At the first quarter, La Salle immediately went down to business with Macmac Cardona and Renren Ritualo leading the scoring spree. The quarter ended in favor of the Archers, 27-24.
 
Ateneo fought back at the second quarter with Magnum Membrere leading the charge. The Eagles remained trailing at the end of the first half, 44-40.
 
Eagle Olsen Racela sparked a 7-2 comeback hustling on both sides of the court after Ateneo went 12 points behind La Salle. La Salle’s Don Allado, however, fired back and gave the Archers the lead to wrap up the third, 67-61.
 
Villanueva and LA Tenorio gave it their all as the fourth quarter turned into a mad scramble between both teams. A three-pointer from Tenorio and a free throw from Wesley Gonzalez evened things up at 84 with 1.39 remaining.
 
From that point the lead went back and fourth with Ateneo and La Salle exchanging clutch baskets and charity shots. At the end of the regulation, the score was 90-all.
 
Since it was an exhibition match, there was no overtime, ending the game at a draw.
 
For the Archers, Coach Jong Uichico said, "it ended perfectly.  Both teams played a good game and while we may have wanted to win, it still ended well.  It's a win-win situation."
 
Ateneo mentor Chot Reyes, for his part, said: "with nothing on the line, we gave it our best.  That's a warning to the people who didn't come out to watch today – never miss an Ateneo-La Salle game."
 
The starters for Ateneo's side were Villanueva, Gonzales, Tenorio, Doug Kramer, and Larry Fonacier. The rest of the squad includes Mebrere, Racela, Gec Chia, JC Intal, Rich Alvarez, Paolo Bugia, and Macky Escalona.
 
The first five for De La Salle's side were Allado, Cortez, Cardona, Willie Wilson and Carlo Sharma. Adding fire power were Ritualo, Joseph Yeo, Junjun Cabatu, Mark Telan, Adonis Sta. Maria, Jay-R Aquino, Ryan Arana.
 
PBA Players’ Educational Trust Fund
The benefit game was conceptualized by Philippine Basketball Association  Commissioner Sonny Barrios and the Board of Governors with the project's proceeds going directly to the PBA Players’ Educational Trust Fund (ETF).
 
The fund, which handles the tuition of the children of former PBA players, is more important now after some basketball celebrities got embroiled in another investor scam.
 
The Ateneo-La Salle game could also be just the first of a series of benefit games according to the PBA.
 
“We may also pit in the future other basketball rivalries like Letran-San Beda, Ateneo-San Beda, Letran-San Sebastian, UST-UE, FEU-La Salle and others,” said PBA operations and technical chief Rickie Santos. With a report from Anne Yosuico