UAAP: Arvin Tolentino, Prince Rivero continue rivalry in college

In the NCAA juniors basketball tournament last season, Prince Rivero won Most Valuable Player honors for La Salle Greenhills.

 

Arvin Tolentino, however, had the last laugh, winning finals MVP honors after leading San Beda to the title over Rivero and the Greenies.

 

After a brief team-up to represent the Philippines in a pair of FIBA 3x3 tournaments last year, Rivero and Tolentino once again find themselves on opposite ends of a rivalry in college while playing for La Salle and Ateneo, respectively.

 

Tolentino was No. 1 in the Rookie of the Year race after a stellar first round, including a 14-point, 10-rebound performance in 27 minutes in Ateneo's win over the Green Archers last July 20. In that game, Rivero saw just five minutes of action, scoring four points.

 

The two freshmen faced off anew on Sunday, with different results from their first round outing. With La Salle's frontline decimated by injuries, Rivero proved that he deserved more minutes, finishing with nine points, including six in the second quarter, along with five rebounds.

 

“Siguro fruit of my labor lang, kasi I work a lot so hindi naman puwedeng wala siyang kapalit na maganda,” Rivero said of his performance. “Kasi lahat naman ng pinagtatrabahuhan mo nakakakuha tayo ng blessing.”

 

In contrast, Tolentino struggled, scoring seven points but failing to grab a single rebound.

 

Ateneo team captain Kiefer Ravena, however, was not worried about Tolentino's subpar numbers.

 

“He’s a rookie, he’ll adjust to the second round. Ngayon alam na niya kung ano talagang ibig sabihin ng second round, bakbakan na talaga,” Ravena said of Tolentino. — JST, GMA News