WORDS BY PAOLO AGULTO
PHOTOS BY LESLIE SY
July 26, 2010 | 5805 views
THE OTHER BEATDOWN
Sometimes, they even take the “one big fight” thing a little too seriously.
There was the1989 brawl where former Blue Eagle Billy Del Rosario was almost punched and kicked to death by a number of Green Archers.
A mishap by LaSalle’s Rico Maierhofer also unfolded in Game 2 of the 2008 UAAP Finals as he gave everyone the dirty finger during the 3rd quarter. Needless to say, he was ejected and Ateneo won the game and the championship, 62-51.
There was also the L.A. Tenorio sucker punch that resulted in the suspension of three players in a 2003 do-or-die UAAP Final Four game.
In the 2006 UAAP finals series between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and UST Growling Tigers, hundreds of La Sallians went out of their way to line up and wait hours for tickets, just so they can heckle their rivals into losing.
But nothing is more memorable than the Joshua Webb-Bacon Austria scuffle during a Cory Aquino tribute game in 2009. The two pulled out all the stops to beat each other – even when they’re not the ones competing.
HOW BIG IS THIS RIVALRY?
Sightings of celebrities, politicians and tycoons who went to either schools are a norm, so much so that even NBA star Gilbert Arenas and People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao themselves witnessed a game live at one point.
Ateneo-La Salle games also own some of the highest attendance records in Araneta Coliseum history, with a record 23,315 patrons in their Season 70 Final Four match.
The rivalry is so popular that removing it can single-handedly cause the demise of UAAP. People can’t get enough of it, and it shows.
“Beyond the personnel and the statistics, what’s nice to see is the spirit. ‘Yun ang nakakadala ng intensity. Even if there’s no championship at stake, the players play all out,” says sports analyst Quinito Henson in an interview with abs-cbn.com.
“Whether if you’re not from Ateneo and La Salle, it’s exciting to watch these two teams play because of the pure intensity. The crowd is into it in every possession and that’s the kind of atmosphere you can expect from an Ateneo-La Salle game.”
So will Ateneo and La Salle ever kiss and make up? Highly doubt it. But it’s okay, because we all prefer it that way.
