Blue Eagles wary of deep UP squad

MANILA, Philippines – UP’s depth will continue to be the thorn in Ateneo’s side, Blue Eagles guard Jared Brown said, as the defending champions begin their UAAP Season 86 semis series against the Fighting Maroons Saturday.

The two teams, which faced each other in the Finals last year, will be battling it out at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for a finals berth, with UP having a twice-to-beat advantage.

In an interview with CNN Philippines’ Sports Desk on Wednesday, Brown said that the depth of UP’s arsenal would be tough to overcome.

“Depth is one thing that makes UP a super hard team to beat. They can [field] all 16 [players] and they’re not really losing anything,” Brown said in the interview.

“Depth is one of the things [that make this an uphill climb] really,” he added.

The defending champions’ core got broken up in the offseason, leaving the team with young guns Brown, Joseph Obasa, Mason Amos and some veterans Kai Ballungay and Chris Koon.

While the team got a lot younger, the Blue Eagles, who finished the elimination round with a 7-7 slate, have returned to the Final Four for the ninth straight season.

On Wednesday, they defeated the gritty Adamson Soaring Falcons, 70-48, for the last semifinal spot.

Brown finished with 20 points in that do-or-die match.

The 12-2 Fighting Maroons, meanwhile, will try to get back to the finals for the third straight season.

They are fielding a team stacked with talent, headed by reigning MVP Malick Diouf, CJ Cansino, JD Cagulangan, Harold Alarcon, Gerry Abadiano, Terrence Fortea, as well as young guns Francis Lopez, Janjan Felicilda, Sean Torculas and Cyril Gonzales, to name a few.

In the same interview, Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga said that UP remains to be a “very big challenge” for the Blue Eagles.

“They’re number one for a reason. But we’ve got to make sure that we approach this game not from that vantage point,” Arespacochaga said.

“We will look at tape, we’ll look at tape, we’ll watch the games, we’ll come up with a game plan, players will rest and recover… We’ve got to be focused,” he added.

Arespacochaga added that Ateneo will be taking it one step at a time.

“UP’s got a great coaching staff, great