KATIPUNAN sides UP and Ateneo have contested the UAAP men's basketball crown in three of the last five seasons, with the Blue Eagles winning twice.
But for Ateneo mentor Tab Baldwin, who led their title romps in Seasons 81 and 85, the first "Battle of Katipunan" of Season 86 is a "far cry" from what the sought-after matchup has been in recent years.
"That’s definitely not a rematch. The names of the teams might be the same, but we’re a far cry from the same team that went out to play them," said Baldwin.
"But we have a lot to prove. Every game is an opportunity for us to prove things and its a great scenario to go up against the team that’s been (unbeaten this season)," he added.
Nonetheless, the multi-titled mentor looks forward to keep UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde on his toes in their forthcoming battle.
"Gold (Monteverde) can sweat a little bit this week, which we want him to. But come game time on Sunday, he’s gonna be very confident in his team and their performance and strength," Baldwin said.
"He’s gonna worry during the week and I think our performance today (versus UST) gave him a few different things to think about."
And come Sunday, one battlecry between two champion sides will resonate just a bit louder than the other.
"We’ll be excited on Sunday. It’s 'one big fight' versus 'UP fight.' We’re getting a little bit used to that over the years and I’m sure fans will be very enthusiastic about it. We’ll show up but we’ll be losing sleep first over that," shared Baldwin.