Ateneo–La Salle rivalry


The Ateneo–La Salle rivalry is a historied rivalry between two of the top elite universities in the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University. Both are private, Catholic academic institutions within the Metropolitan Manila area. The Ateneo men's varsity team is known as the Ateneo Blue Eagles, women's varsity team as the Ateneo Lady Eagles, and high school team as the Ateneo Blue Eaglets. The De La Salle men's varsity team is known as the De La Salle Green Archers, women's varsity team as the DLSU Lady Archers/Spikers, and high school team as the DLSZ Junior Archers.

History

De La Salle and Ateneo were both co-founders of the pre-war NCAA but actively compete in the UAAP. The historied rivalry began when Ateneo lost to De La Salle in a hotly contested championship basketball game during the 16th NCAA Season. Basketball games between Ateneo and La Salle in the NCAA were always hard fought but was not yet tagged by the local sportswriters as the recognized rivalry. The more popular collegiate sports rivalries was between Ateneo versus San Beda, and De La Salle versus Letran. The rivalry between De La Salle vs Ateneo then was mostly based on their academic performance, debate, social status, prestige and school pride. When Ateneo and De La Salle transferred to the UAAP in 1978 and 1986 respectively, they continued their fierce battles and innate animosity against each other on and off court. The sports press showed interest and wrote about the school rivalry that always caught the attention of sports loving fans. The basketball games between De La Salle and Ateneo are the most anticipated battles in every UAAP season year after year. A Green Archer versus Blue Eagle fray would always draw huge, loyal crowds of fanatical students, school faculty and officials, notable and influential alumni, actors and actresses, musicians, business tycoons, high government officials such as cabinet members, senators, congressmen, justices of the Supreme Court, former Presidents of the Philippines, and several notable people of great influence in Philippine society. Several Ambassadors of the United States of America would gamely attend and watch a De La Salle vs Ateneo basketball game year after year. The rivalry started out with the men's basketball games and has since expanded to other sports, particularly in women's volleyball where both teams fought head-to-head in the UAAP Finals for six consecutive times from 2012 to 2017. Both universities have also extended their rivalry beyond sports and have gone into their various fields of academic achievements, accomplishments, expertise and contributions to the upliftment of the Philippines.
From 1924 to 1925, basketball games between Ateneo and De La Salle were played at an open basketball court at the Padre Faura, Ermita campus of UP and in 1926 at the Nozaleda Park. The venue later moved to the covered courts of the US Army's 31st Infantry Gym and UST Gym. The games then moved to the pre-war Rizal Memorial Coliseum to accommodate bigger crowds, and at one point, the venues included the Ateneo Loyola Center, the Cuneta Astrodome, the PhilSports Arena. Currently, the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the SM Mall of Asia Arena are the present main venues for their sold out games. Both the De La Salle and Ateneo games have an ever increasing loyal fan base that provides very high TV ratings that increases the commercial value of the UAAP brand year after year.

Head-to-head records by sport

Seniors' division

Presently, the De La Salle Green Archers have more collegiate championships compared to the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the NCAA and UAAP combined in both men's and women's divisions. La Salle has 182 collegiate titles versus Ateneo with 110 collegiate titles. La Salle also has eight General Collegiate Championships versus Ateneo with one General Collegiate Championship. This count excludes additional collegiate titles and the five General Collegiate Championships also won by De La Salle-College of St. Benilde since it participated in the NCAA in 1998.
La Salle leads Ateneo 11–6 in 17 of the 19 sports categories where both teams compete in currently. Note that both teams are tied with the number of titles for beach volleyball with one apiece, and both teams have yet to win collegiate championships in Cheerdance.
General Championships

La Salle leads Ateneo in the number of General Championships in the seniors' division, 8–1. Note that all championships listed are NCAA General Championships and UAAP General Championships. La Salle won its first UAAP General Championship in the seniors' division in UAAP Season 75, and won two additional General Championship titles in UAAP Season 76, and UAAP Season 78.
Presently, the Ateneo Blue Eaglets have won 116 titles while the De La Salle Junior Archers have won 119 titles. La Salle has ten General High School Championship titles versus Ateneo with four General High School Championships titles. This count excludes the additional high school titles and the four General High School Championships won by La Salle Green Hills after it began to represent De La Salle-College of St. Benilde in the NCAA Juniors division in 1998.
Ateneo leads La Salle 7–6 in 13 of the 14 sports categories where both teams compete in currently.
General Championships

La Salle leads Ateneo in General High School Championship titles, 10–4. The first two General High School Championship titles of La Salle were won by DLSC High School while the next eight titles were won by La Salle Green Hills. Note that included are NCAA and UAAP General Championships.

Overall

In terms of total collegiate and high school basketball titles won in the NCAA and UAAP, Ateneo leads La Salle, 57–27. In men's basketball, Ateneo has a total of 25 championship titles whereas La Salle has 14. The Blue Eagles have 14 NCAA titles and 11 UAAP titles while the Green Archers have 5 NCAA titles and 9 UAAP titles. In juniors' basketball, Ateneo has 11 NCAA titles and 19 UAAP titles, for a total of 30, whereas La Salle has 6 NCAA titles and 2 UAAP titles, for 8 in total. In women's basketball, both schools have only won titles in the UAAP as the NCAA does not have a women's basketball tournament, where La Salle leads Ateneo, 5–2.
The Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Archers have met in the championships of the NCAA and UAAP at least nine times. The Blue Eagles won the men's basketball title over La Salle in 1958, 1988, 2002, 2008, and 2017 whereas the Green Archers prevailed in 1939, 1974, 2001, and 2016.
In the juniors' division, the De La Salle Junior Archers defeated the top-seeded Ateneo Blue Eaglets in 2007. In 2009, the Eaglets defeated the top-seeded Junior Archers.

Collegiate titles of national scope

In terms of collegiate titles of national scope, Ateneo leads with five titles to La Salle's three. Ateneo won the Collegiate Champions League title in 2007, and won back to back titles in the Philippine Collegiate Championship League in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, as well as in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. La Salle won the Philippine Intercollegiate Championship in 1988 and the Philippine Collegiate Championship in 2008 and 2013 against Ateneo and the SWU Cobras, respectively.
Ateneo won the 2007 Collegiate Champions League title against the University of the Visayas Green Lancers, 71–54. The Collegiate Champions League, was then reformatted and became the Philippine Collegiate Championship League. It is currently the national collegiate basketball championship tournament, sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the country's official basketball federation. College teams from all over the country participate in the tournament. The tournament also has a Sweet 16 similar to the United States' NCAA Basketball Tournament during "March Madness."
The Green Archers won the 2008 PCCL title. La Salle defeated the second-seeded NCAA champion San Beda Red Lions and arranged a finals meeting with the top-seeded UAAP champion Ateneo Blue Eagles, who defeated the Letran Knights in the Final Four. In the championship match, the De La Salle Green Archers prevailed over the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 71–62.
In the 2009 season of the Philippine Collegiate Championship League, the Blue Eagles defeated the FEU Tamaraws in three games to clinch their second national title, whereas the Green Archers were eliminated by the Letran Knights in their first game in the round of 16. In the 2010 season, the Blue Eagles defeated the Adamson Falcons in three games to clinch their third and back-to-back national titles, while the Green Archers settled for 3rd-place beating the UC Webmasters despite having 4 players injured and only 10 players intact in the line-up.
In the 2013 season of the Philippine Collegiate Championship League, the Green Archers defeated the South Western University Cobras, via sweep to reclaim the national championship for the first time since 2008 and winning their second title in the tournament.
In the 2018 season of the Philippine Collegiate Championship League, the Blue Eagles defeated the University of Visayas Green Lancers, 95–71 to reclaim the national championship for the first time since 2010 and winning their fourth title in the tournament. In the 2019 season, the Blue Eagles defeated the San Beda Red Lions 57–46 to win their fifth title in the PCCL.

Championship streaks

Ateneo was 3-peat NCAA champion from 1931 through 1933, and its record of 14 collegiate titles remained unsurpassed by any school in the NCAA until 2003. They currently hold the distinction of having the longest UAAP basketball title streak in the Final Four era after winning five straight times from 2008 to 2012. In 2019, Ateneo achieved another 3-peat and became the first team in the UAAP Final Four era to finish an entire season without a single loss in the UAAP Season 82 men's basketball tournament.
Both schools have also managed to post what are regarded as "double championships" by winning both the seniors and juniors titles in the same year. The Ateneo Blue Eagles still have the most number of double titles in NCAA history, with four double championships, including the NCAA's second back-to-back double championships in 1975 and 1976.
Ateneo holds the distinction of being the only double 3-peat champion in the senior and junior levels whether in the NCAA or UAAP, from 2008 to 2010, and has posted two 4-peats and three back-to-back title streaks in the UAAP juniors' division.
La Salle does not have any such streaks in the NCAA, but won back-to-back titles once in 1989 and 1990, and also posted a rare 4-peat in UAAP men's basketball from 1998 to 2001. La Salle accomplished the double championship once during its stint in the NCAA and UAAP.
The Lady Archers were able to duplicate the championship streak of the Green Archers and achieved a 4-peat of their own from 1999 to 2002, which was the longest UAAP women's basketball championship streak in the Final Four era until it was surpassed 16 years later in 2018, when the NU Lady Bulldogs won their fifth consecutive championship.
La Salle holds the distinction of being the first and only school to be 3-peat UAAP basketball champions in both men's and women's divisions in the same period, from 1999 to 2001. In 2013, La Salle were champions in both divisions again in the UAAP Season 76 basketball tournaments.

NCAA

In 1939, La Salle defeated Ateneo in both the Seniors and Juniors NCAA Championship. A legend states that the rivalry reputedly started that year when after La Salle defeated Ateneo, then the defending champions, La Salle students threw fried chicken outside the gates of the old Ateneo campus in Manila. Ateneo and La Salle would not meet in the championship again until 1958 where Ateneo defeated La Salle by a basket in overtime. Another finals meeting of both schools took place in 1974 with La Salle prevailing over Ateneo in the championship. Ateneo and La Salle left the NCAA in 1978 and 1981 respectively after games turned into full-blown riots, with Ateneo leaving after losing the 1978 championship against San Beda in closed doors, and La Salle after fan disturbance in their 1980 second-round game against Letran.

UAAP

Ateneo won the championship in 1987 by prevailing over UE in the first head-to-head championship match up between the two schools. La Salle won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, and won four straight titles from 1998 to 2001, with La Salle beating Ateneo in the 2001 Finals, capping its 4-peat title run. Ateneo subsequently defeated La Salle in the 2002 championship to end its 14-year title drought. In 2003, Ateneo eliminated La Salle in the semifinals, breaking a streak of La Salle appearances in the UAAP Finals. La Salle won the 2004 title after eliminating Ateneo in the semifinals, but was stripped of the title when they were suspended for fielding two ineligible players. La Salle swept the UE Red Warriors to win the 2007 title after the suspension, a season that saw them meet the Blue Eagles five times, lose thrice, but win two crucial games including the one that paved the way for a Finals appearance. Ateneo defeated La Salle in all four encounters in 2008, including the Finals, thereby dethroning DLSU. Ateneo then went on to win all matches against La Salle on the way to winning a running total of five consecutive UAAP titles, except for a lone La Salle victory in the first round of eliminations in 2010. In 2012, the two teams met in a Final Four encounter, where the Blue Eagles defeated the Green Archers, eliminating La Salle from contention. With its 2012 title victory, Ateneo broke its deadlock of UAAP titles with La Salle and exceeded La Salle's championship streak with the longest in the Final Four era, and now has the longest held by only one UAAP school. Ateneo failed to enter the Final Four in 2013 while La Salle won the title for the first time since 2007. Both teams failed to enter the Finals in 2014. In 2015, both teams failed once again to enter the Finals with La Salle missing the Final Four for the first time since 2011, while Ateneo made it to the semifinals but lost to the eventual champions FEU Tamaraws, who also ousted La Salle in their last game for the last Final Four slot in which enabled the erstwhile defending champions NU Bulldogs to grab the #4 position in the playoffs. In 2016 both teams met in the Finals for the first time since 2008 with both schools taking the Top 2 spots at the end of the elimination rounds and having the twice to beat advantage, with La Salle outlasting Adamson in one game, while Ateneo used their twice to beat advantage to take out the defending champions FEU Tamaraws in a hard-fought series with Ateneo winning the second game in an overtime thriller in which both teams did not score more than five points in the extra period. In the Finals the Green Archers swept the Blue Eagles to win their 9th title and break the tie among them for the number of UAAP titles. In 2017, both Ateneo and La Salle met once again in the Finals and the first back-to-back Ateneo–La Salle Finals series since 2002 with Ateneo winning this time in 3 full games that ended their 5-year title drought and dethroning La Salle in the process.
2001 Finals: La Salle 4-peat

GameWinnerLoserSeries
Game 1La Salle 74Ateneo 68La Salle 1–0
Game 2Ateneo 76La Salle 72Tied 1–1
Game 3La Salle 93Ateneo 88La Salle 2–1

La Salle was the defending three-time champion, while Ateneo were in a 13-year championship drought. Ateneo started well, but La Salle had a relentless fourth quarter run, capped off by Manny Ramos' insurance free-throws to seal the game with 3.9 seconds left. At Game 2, Enrico Villanueva scored 22 points to lead the Eagles to a series-extending win. After Mike Cortez tying the game at 72–all, Villanueva passed the ball to teammate Magnum Membrere who scored a three-pointer. On the next possession, Ren-Ren Ritualo failed to answer with a game-tying three of his own to force a sudden-death Game 3, scoring Ateneo's first win against La Salle in the season after three games. In the deciding game, Carlo Sharma scored a UAAP career-high 22 points, 11 in the final quarter to prevent an Ateneo victory. Ateneo's rookie LA Tenorio had 30 points of his own but it was not enough, as La Salle coach Pumaren remarked that "This was the sweetest of the four championships because we're able to erase the stigma of our 1988 loss to Ateneo."
2002 Finals: 14-year Ateneo Championship Drought is Over
GameWinnerLoserSeries
Game 1Ateneo 72La Salle 70Ateneo 1–0
Game 2La Salle 85Ateneo 77Tied 1–1
Game 3Ateneo 77La Salle 70Ateneo 2–1

Prior to the Finals, Ateneo prevented a 14–0 elimination round sweep of La Salle that would have given a bye up to the best-of-three Finals. Instead, Ateneo defeated La Salle in the elimination round finale 76–63. La Salle defeated rival University of Santo Tomas, and Ateneo overcame No. 2 seed University of the East in two games, with the second game ending in a buzzer beater by Gec Chia to push Ateneo into the Finals anew.
Game 1 ended with Villanueva scoring Ateneo's last ten points, and teammate Larry Fonacier blocking two shots by Mark Cardona that would have forced overtime to give Ateneo a 1–0 series lead. In Game 2, with the Ateneo team noted as being "tense," La Salle had an 18-point lead at halftime, which Ateneo cut down to three, 80–77, but Sharma and Adonis Santa Maria converted crucial free-throws that gave La Salle enough breathing space to force another Game 3. In Game 3, La Salle player Mike Cortez missed 11 of 13 shots, which caused La Salle students and alumni to accuse him of throwing the game, as Ateneo eventually won the title to deny La Salle a fifth consecutive championship.
2003–2005: Semifinals Meetings
Ateneo and La Salle would play second fiddle to Far Eastern University from 2003 to 2005, with the Tamaraws defeating Ateneo in 2003, losing to La Salle in 2004 and defeating La Salle in 2005.
Along the way, the two teams met in the semifinals, where the higher seed gets the twice-to-beat advantage. In 2003, La Salle forced No. 1 seed Ateneo into a rubber match after a 76–72 overtime win, with the game being halted after a brawl erupted between the two teams. With Ateneo's LA Tenorio and La Salle's Ryan Araña suspended for the deciding game, Ateneo eliminated La Salle from Finals contention in the deciding game with a 74–68 triumph.
In 2004, La Salle and Ateneo finished the elimination round tied for second place, so a playoff game was played to determine which team gets the twice-to-beat advantage. La Salle won the game, and ended Ateneo's season in the semifinals, to face FEU in the Finals. La Salle would win in three games to deny FEU which had defeated Ateneo a season before, a back-to-back championship run.
In 2005, three teams, La Salle, Ateneo and UE, were all tied for second place. La Salle won the tiebreaker with a superior point differential on games played by the three teams, causing Ateneo and UE to play for the right to face La Salle with the twice-to-win disadvantage in which the Eagles won. However, La Salle defeated Ateneo in the semifinals to clinch another Finals appearance against FEU.
2006: La Salle Suspension
After FEU swept La Salle in the 2005 championship series, La Salle admitted it fielded two ineligible players from 2003 to 2005, albeit it claimed not to be aware of their ineligibility which caused them to return the 2005 runner-up trophy and the 2004 championship trophy they won against FEU. The league suspended La Salle in 2006 for a year due to negligence, with all of their games during that period also forfeited. Ateneo faced UST in the 2006 Finals, a series UST won in three games.
2007: "Two is Greater than Three"
Upon their return in 2007, UE swept the elimination round 14–0, with their last game against La Salle going into overtime with the Warriors still prevailing. With Ateneo also losing their last game, the two teams were again tied for second place, and La Salle won the playoff game to clinch the twice-to-beat advantage. Prior to this, Ateneo won the two elimination round games against La Salle.
Unlike earlier match-ups where the team with the advantage won the first game, Ateneo won the first game, with Chris Tiu playing pivotal roles in crunch time where he scored the winning lay-up with 7.3 seconds remaining to force a deciding game. In their fifth meeting of the season, Pocholo Villanueva scored a three-pointer to add La Salle's lead to nine with less than three minutes in the game left. After an Ateneo 6–2 run, Villanueva scored a jump-shot anew, padding the lead to seven. After Ford Arao later cut the lead to five, La Salle's OJ Cua missed two free-throws with 23.9 seconds remaining. Chris Tiu passed the ball to Nonoy Baclao who scored a three-pointer to cut the lead to two, but JV Casio converted both of his free-throws with 4 seconds left to punch La Salle's ticket to the Finals. This had been the only time Ateneo and La Salle played for five games in a season without both the teams advancing to the Finals.
La Salle would eventually sweep UE in the Finals 2–0 to cap their seventh men's basketball championship. After the season, La Salle coach Franz Pumaren remarked that "This is the only time that two is greater than three, they beat us three times, but we beat them when it counted the most."
2008–2012: Ateneo 5-peat
GameWinnerLoserSeries
Game 1Ateneo 69La Salle 61Ateneo 1–0
Game 2Ateneo 62La Salle 51Ateneo 2–0

Ateneo would later claim their fourth UAAP title in 2008 against defending champions La Salle by sweeping the finals series 2–0. In Game 1, Rabeh Al-Hussaini scored 31 points to lead Ateneo to a win. In Game 2, Ateneo led by 15 points at halftime, but La Salle rallied to cut the lead down to 50–47 at the end of the third quarter. However, La Salle forward Rico Maierhofer was ejected just before the end of the third after the officials said that he flashed the dirty finger, although Maierhofer denied the charge. A La Salle scoring drought saw the lead balloon to eight in the last two minutes, and Ateneo never looked back after a Jai Reyes three-point play to secure Ateneo's fourth UAAP men's basketball title.
La Salle paraded several rookies for the 2009 season, while Ateneo emerged with only Chris Tiu as the major graduating player. With these conditions, the first Ateneo–La Salle game came at the heels of former President Corazon Aquino's death, and as a result, spectators wore yellow as a sign for respect for Aquino. Ateneo outlasted La Salle in overtime to end the first round with a solitary loss. The two teams met a week later, but this time Ateneo had a big enough lead to prevent La Salle from catching up. Ateneo qualified for the semifinals as the No. 1 seed, eventually winning the championship; La Salle missed out on the Final Four on the final day after being defeated by NU. The 2009 season would be the first time Ateneo and La Salle would not meet in the playoffs since 2001, not including their Finals encounter in 2008 and the DLSU suspension in 2006.
In 2010, parading some new players and an improved set of veterans, the Green Archers defeated the Blue Eagles, 66–63, with the Blue Eagles still feeling the loss of three of the previous season's starters and sophomore guard Sam Marata shooting hot in the end game. This was the first official win of the Green Archers against the Blue Eagles in UAAP action since 2007. In the second round encounter, the Ateneo Blue Eagles were threatened with falling into a tie in the standings had they lost to DLSU. After falling behind 4–9, the Blue Eagles went on a 10–0 scoring run to take a double digit lead, and went on to defeat the Archers decisively, 74–57.
2010 was the second straight year that Ateneo and DLSU would not meet in a post eliminations series. DLSU managed to reach the Final Four after missing it in the previous season, but fell to the top-seeded FEU Tamaraws in overtime. The Blue Eagles defeated the Adamson Falcons in the Final Four, and went on to sweep the Tamaraws for their third consecutive title despite not having any player in the Mythical Team.
In 2011, the Ateneo Blue Eagles team headlined by two rookies defeated DLSU again in both of their elimination matches. It is also the third straight year that Ateneo and DLSU would not meet in a post elimination series, since the DLSU Green Archers failed to qualify once again for the Final Four. The Ateneo Blue Eagles were the top-seeded team in the semifinals and defeated the UST Growling Tigers in one game. The Blue Eagles then proceeded to sweep the Finals series against the FEU Tamaraws, thus achieving its own four-peat.
Prior to the start of the 2012 season, Norman Black announced that this would be his last season as head coach of the Ateneo. La Salle, on the other hand, had a rookie coach in Gee Abanilla. The two schools met thrice that season- twice in the elimination and once in the semi-finals with Ateneo winning all of the games. A few days prior to the Final 4 match between Ateneo and La Salle, the Blue Eagle's patron, Manny Pangilinan, announced that he would be pulling out his support from the school. Despite the controversy, Ateneo eventually won its fifth consecutive title, sweeping UST in the Finals.
2013: The End of an Era for Ateneo
Upon the departure of Norman Black, Dolreich "Bo" Perasol, a former member of the University of the Philippines men's basketball team and a seasoned Philippine Basketball Association head coach, was tapped by Ateneo as head coach of the Blue Eagles. The entry of Perasol, who was rumored to be tapped as team consultant of the UP Fighting Maroons prior to his appointment as Ateneo head coach, also heralded the return of Manny Pangilinan as the Blue Eagles' main patron. Joining Ateneo men's basketball team was Filipino-American forward Chris Newsome.
Over at La Salle, a series of reshuffles within and outside of the team resulted to the appointment of then assistant coach Juno Sauler as the head coach of the Green Archers. Joining the De La Salle Green Archers coaching staff prior to the start of the 2013–2014 UAAP season was Allan Caidic, who took on the chores of shooting coach. Filipino-American forwards Jason Perkins and Matthew Salem became a part of team roster, which had to adjust to the loss of resident players Yutien Andrada, Mac Tallo, Fonzo Gotladera and Papot Paredes.
For the first time since 2005, La Salle was able to sweep Ateneo during the elimination round. During their first round meeting at the Mall of Asia Arena last July 7, 2013, the Green Archers, banking on the heroics of combo guard Almond Vosotros and center Arnold Van Opstal, defeated the Blue Eagles, 82–73, resulting to Ateneo's third straight loss to start the season. The second round meeting, which was held at the Araneta Coliseum last September 1, 2013, was tightly contested by Ateneo and La Salle, with the Green Archers winning over the Blue Eagles, 66–64, after sophomore forward Jeron Teng sank a floater with only two seconds left in the shot clock.
Toward the end of the second round Ateneo-La Salle game, Perasol was involved in a scuffle with JJ Atayde, an alumnus of La Salle, after the former got irked with the latter's heckling. The incident caused the UAAP Board to penalize Perasol with a one-game suspension and Atayde with a season-wide ban from watching games. Controversy further ensued after Perasol violated his one-game suspension by watching from inside the Ateneo dugout during the Blue Eagles' September 8, 2013 game against the UE Red Warriors, forcing UE team officials to file an inquiry before the UAAP Board. The UAAP Board acted on UE's request for an inquiry, ordering Perasol to serve his one-game suspension during Ateneo's September 18, 2013 game against the UST Growling Tigers.
Ateneo, with Perasol serving his one-game suspension, was eventually defeated by UST, 74–82, causing the Blue Eagles to not only be dethroned as UAAP Men's Basketball Champions after five straight seasons but to also miss Final Four contention for the first time since 1998.
La Salle, after a disastrous 3–4 finish during the first round of elimination games, swept the second round and ended the elimination round at 10–4, forcing a three-way tie for the top spot alongside the NU Bulldogs and the FEU Tamaraws. Due to having the highest quotient, NU took the Number One spot with twice-to-beat advantage and faced the UST in the Final Four, with the Growling Tigers defeating the Bulldogs in two games. On the other hand, La Salle and FEU faced each other twice, the first meeting being a rubber match game for the Number Two spot and the twice-to-beat advantage and the second being the formal Final Four game, with the Green Archers winning on both occasions and entering the Finals for the first time since UAAP Season 71. During the finals series, La Salle defeated UST in three games to win the UAAP Season 76 men's basketball championship title.
2016 Finals: Mayhem
GameWinnerLoserSeries
Game 1La Salle 67Ateneo 65La Salle 1–0
Game 2La Salle 79Ateneo 72La Salle 2–0

In 2016, La Salle was able to utilize center Ben Mbala, and tapped the services of former Letran Knights coach Aldin Ayo while Ateneo was on a rebuilding stage after the graduation of their top 2 scorers in Kiefer Ravena and Von Pessumal though they were able to get the services of former Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin. The Green Archers finished the elimination round as the top seed with a 13–1 record with Ateneo coming in second with a 10–4 win-loss record. The only loss of the Green Archers came at the hands of their archivals, the Ateneo Blue Eagles during the second to the last game of the elimination round. Coming into Final Four both teams have a twice-to-beat advantage with La Salle defeating Adamson in just one game while Ateneo had to utilize their twice-to-beat incentives against FEU. After 8 years, Ateneo and La Salle faced off in the Finals, with La Salle emerging as the champion of Season 79 after sweeping Ateneo in the Finals.
2017 Finals: Return of the King
GameWinnerLoserSeries
Game 1Ateneo 76La Salle 70Ateneo 1–0
Game 2La Salle 92Ateneo 83Tied 1–1
Game 3Ateneo 88La Salle 86Ateneo 2–1

The following year, in Season 80, the Ateneo Blue Eagles won their first 13 games of the elimination round. Their bid for a sweep was denied by the De La Salle Green Archers. In the Final Four matches, La Salle went on to defeat the Adamson Falcons, while the Blue Eagles lost the first game to the FEU Tamaraws, their second loss of the season. Ateneo prevailed over FEU in the decider and faced La Salle in the championship series. The Blue Eagles took Game One, 76–70, whereas the Green Archers rallied from 21 points down to take Game 2, 92–83. In Game 3, the Blue Eagles led by as much as 10 points in order to defeat La Salle, 88–86, and retake the men's basketball championship.

Juniors' basketball rivalry

The two universities are also represented in the high school level, with the Ateneo de Manila High School and La Salle Green Hills, De La Salle Zobel. And a similar rivalry, although on much lesser scale, currently exists. When La Salle Green Hills used to be the juniors' team of the Green Archers in the NCAA though, the rivalry between the Ateneo and La Salle in the high school level was much stronger, considering that both the Ateneo High School and the LSGH High School are all-male schools, igniting a huge rumble in 1978. But this rivalry has since faded, with AHS being in the UAAP and LSGH staying in the NCAA. Still, the remnants of this rivalry live on in the UAAP with LSGH's sister school De La Salle-Santiago Zobel School, the juniors representative of De La Salle University in the UAAP, taking its place.
In juniors' basketball, Ateneo has 11 NCAA titles and 19 UAAP titles, for a total of 30, whereas La Salle has 6 NCAA titles and 2 UAAP titles, for 8 in total.
La Salle Greenies defeated the Ateneo Blue Eaglets in the 1939 NCAA Junior Championship. Ateneo High School and De La Salle Santiago Zobel School met twice in the UAAP juniors' basketball finals; in 2007 in which DLSZ won in two games dethroning the Eaglets in the process, and in 2009 in which the Blue Eaglets won the best-of-three series, 2–1. In addition, the Junior Archers were not able to defend their 2005 championship due to their suspension along with their seniors' counterparts.

Philippine University Games

Ateneo has won the basketball crown of the Unigames 3 times. La Salle has won it once.

National Seniors Open championship

The National Seniors Open was a tournament participated by top commercial and collegiate teams in the country. La Salle won the 1939 and 1949 Championships. Ateneo has not won a National Seniors Open championship.

National Open

La Salle won the National Open in 1983.

Men's basketball tournament results

Men's basketball games between the two in the UAAP are the most anticipated match-ups in the season, with most games being sold out. Both teams are guaranteed to face each other at the elimination round twice, while they can meet for a maximum of three times in the playoffs.
The games were played consistently from 1986 until 2006 when La Salle was suspended for fielding two ineligible players.
Official UAAP league records since 1986 show that head-to-head championships between the teams have Ateneo leading 4 championships to 2. Including regular season, Final Four and Championship games in the UAAP, Ateneo leads 52 games to 37 as seven La Salle wins from 2003 to 2005 were forfeited due to the use of ineligible players using falsified documents.

NCAA men's basketball results

DateAteneoLa SalleVenueNotes
1939Ateneo 23La Salle 27First Ateneo-La Salle championship game results with La Salle winning their first NCAA title.
1958Ateneo 105La Salle 103Rizal Memorial Coliseum, ManilaOT; NCAA championship, Ateneo wins second consecutive title.
August 13, 1966Ateneo 72La Salle 69Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila
September 29, 1966Ateneo 80La Salle 74Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila
1968Ateneo 48La Salle 49Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon CityNCAA second round
September 27, 1969Ateneo 93La Salle 88Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon CityNCAA second round
1974Ateneo 80La Salle 90La Salle wins NCAA championship

UAAP men's basketball results

DateAteneoLa SalleVenueNote/sSeries
July 26, 1986Ateneo 88 La Salle 77PhilSports Arena, PasigAteneo won their first four meetings against La Salle in the UAAP.1–0
August 23, 1986Ateneo 92 La Salle 81Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon CityAteneo won their first four meetings against La Salle in the UAAP.2–0
August 23, 1987Ateneo 95La Salle 91Rizal Memorial Coliseum, ManilaAteneo won their first four meetings against La Salle in the UAAP.3–0
September 26, 1987Ateneo 98La Salle 89Rizal Memorial Coliseum, ManilaAteneo won their first four meetings against La Salle in the UAAP.4–0
August 13, 1988Ateneo 76La Salle 78Rizal Memorial Coliseum, ManilaFirst win of La Salle against Ateneo in the UAAP.4–1
October 2, 1988Ateneo 73La Salle 72Rizal Memorial Coliseum, ManilaAteneo defeated La Salle in the second round, giving Ateneo a twice-to-beat advantage in the finals.5–1
October 7, 1988Ateneo 76La Salle 70Rizal Memorial Coliseum, ManilaFirst Ateneo-La Salle Finals in the UAAP. Ateneo defeated La Salle to retain its title and won back-to-back championships.6–1
August 27, 1989Ateneo 69La Salle 77Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City6–2
September 17, 1989Ateneo 67La Salle 61Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City7–2
August 12, 1990Ateneo 57La Salle 64Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City7–3
September 16, 1990Ateneo 64La Salle 66Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City7–4
August 10, 1991Ateneo 77La Salle 99Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City7–5
September 7, 1991Ateneo 75La Salle 79Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City7–6
July 25, 1992Ateneo 64La Salle 70Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City7–7
September 5, 1992Ateneo 89La Salle 94Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon City7–8
August 7, 1993Ateneo 71La Salle 81Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City7–9
September 18, 1993Ateneo 77La Salle 66Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityAteneo ends its 7-game losing streak against La Salle. Blue Eagles' Richie Ticzon and Vince Hizon's last game.8-9
August 13, 1994Ateneo 66La Salle 81Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay8–10
September 3, 1994Ateneo 73La Salle 72Cuneta Astrodome, PasayBlue Eagle Red Camua scored 18 points with 4 three-point shots and the last 4 free throws to seal the win for Ateneo.9–10
August 5, 1995Ateneo 49La Salle 54Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City9–11
September 2, 1995Ateneo 58La Salle 66Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City9–12
July 27, 1996Ateneo 69La Salle 77Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City9–13
September 14, 1996Ateneo 80La Salle 55Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityAteneo shot 50% from 3-point range and led the entire game.10–13
July 26, 1997Ateneo 54La Salle 61Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityRen-Ren Ritualo's first Ateneo-La Salle game10–14
September 6, 1997Ateneo 66La Salle 68Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City10–15
August 1, 1998Ateneo 50La Salle 64Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityFirst ADMU-DLSU game for Coach Franz Pumaren as head coach of La Salle.10–16
September 12, 1998Ateneo 75La Salle 87Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City10–17
July 31, 1999Ateneo 60La Salle 57Cuneta Astrodome, PasayCoach Joe Lipa's 1st Ateneo-La Salle game as head coach for Ateneo, This is also BJ Manalo's first game against Ateneo11–17
August 28, 1999Ateneo 59La Salle 70PhilSports Arena, PasigDon Allado's last Ateneo-La Salle game.11–18
July 15, 2000Ateneo 70La Salle 94Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityMike Cortez and Larry Fonacier's first Ateneo-La Salle game.11–19
September 16, 2000Ateneo 66La Salle 63Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City12–19
July 15, 2001Ateneo 76La Salle 91Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityLA Tenorio, Joseph Yeo, Pocholo Villanueva and Mac Cardona's first Ateneo-La Salle game.12–20
September 16, 2001Ateneo 63La Salle 76Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City12–21
September 27, 2001Ateneo 68La Salle 74Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals–Game 112–22
October 4, 2001Ateneo 76La Salle 72Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals–Game 213–22
October 16, 2001Ateneo 88La Salle 93Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals–Game 3; La Salle wins fourth consecutive title. LA Tenorio became the first player to score 30 points in a UAAP Finals game. Ren-Ren Ritualo's last Ateneo-La Salle game. The game also served as the last Ateneo-La Salle game for Coach Joe Lipa as head coach for Ateneo.13–23
August 10, 2002Ateneo 60La Salle 70Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityLa Salle had 6–0 record prior to the game. Coach Joel Banal's 1st Ateneo-La Salle game as head coach for Ateneo. This is also JC Intal, Doug Kramer, Macky Escalona and TY Tang's first ADMU-DLSU game.13–24
September 14, 2002Ateneo 76La Salle 63Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityLa Salle had a 13–0 record prior to the game. Ateneo eventually denied La Salle a 14–0 sweep of the eliminations, the first stepladder semifinals in the Final Four Era and an outright Finals berth.14–24
September 26, 2002Ateneo 72La Salle 70Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals–Game 1. Larry Fonacier blocks Mac Cardona twice to secure the win.15–24
September 29, 2002Ateneo 77La Salle 85Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals–Game 215–25
October 5, 2002Ateneo 77La Salle 70Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals–Game 3. Ateneo ends their 14-year championship drought. Enrico Villanueva, Gec Chia, Mike Cortez and Willy Wilson's last Ateneo-La Salle game. The game is also controversial when Cortez was accused of match-fixing.16–25
August 9, 2003Ateneo 82La Salle 68 Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityFirst game with ineligible La Salle players. Chris Tiu and JVee Casio's first Ateneo-La Salle game. This is also Ryan Araña and Jerwin Gaco's first Ateneo-La Salle game since transferring to La Salle.17–25
September 13, 2003Ateneo 98La Salle 89 Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City18–25
September 25, 2003Ateneo 72La Salle 76Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityOT. UAAP semifinals, marred by a brawl that halted the game for several minutes when LA Tenorio sneaked in a punch against Jerwin Gaco which led to his suspension in the next game.19–25
September 30, 2003Ateneo 74La Salle 68 Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Semifinals. Ateneo lost in the Finals vs. FEU. Wesley Gonzales, Rich Alvarez and Carlo Sharma's last Ateneo-La Salle game. The game also served as the last Ateneo-La Salle game for Coach Joel Banal as head coach for Ateneo. Another commotion broke out again after the game between supporters.20–25
July 11, 2004Ateneo 75La Salle 72 Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityOpening day game. Japeth Aguilar and Rico Maierhofer's first ADMU-DLSU game. Larry Fonacier's last Ateneo-La Salle game for his UAAP career prior to their game against the UP Fighting Maroons that eventually ended his final season as he sustained a season ending ACL injury. First ADMU-DLSU game of Coach Sandy Arespacochaga as head coach of Ateneo.21–25
August 22, 2004Ateneo 61La Salle 72Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City22–25
September 14, 2004Ateneo 69La Salle 82Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City2nd-seed game23–25
September 19, 2004Ateneo 55La Salle 69Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP semifinals. La Salle was later stripped of their championship. Jerwin Gaco and Mac Cardona's last Ateneo-La Salle game. Last game of Coach Sandy Arespacochaga as head coach of Ateneo.24–25
July 10, 2005Ateneo 60La Salle 78Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityFirst Ateneo-La Salle game for Coach Norman Black as head coach for Ateneo. This is also the first ADMU-DLSU game for Jai Reyes and Rabeh Al-Hussaini.25–25
September 15, 2005Ateneo 55La Salle 72Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City26–25
September 25, 2005Ateneo 57La Salle 74Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP semifinals. La Salle lost in the Finals vs. FEU. LA Tenorio, Magnum Membrere, Japeth Aguilar, Joseph Yeo and Ryan Araña's last Ateneo-La Salle game. The game also served as the last Ateneo-La Salle for the two ineligible La Salle players when the investigations went deep and eventually the two got expelled from the institution.27–25
July 26, 2007Ateneo 80La Salle 77Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityOT. First game since the La Salle suspension. Nonoy Baclao's first Ateneo-La Salle game.28–25
September 9, 2007Ateneo 89La Salle 87Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City29–25
September 18, 2007Ateneo 69La Salle 70Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City2nd-seed game29–26
September 27, 2007Ateneo 65La Salle 64Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP semifinals30–26
September 30, 2007Ateneo 60La Salle 65Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP semifinals. La Salle went on to win the championship vs. UE. Pocholo Villanueva and TY Tang's last game against Ateneo.30–27
July 6, 2008Ateneo 79La Salle 73Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityLA Revilla, Ryan Buenafe and Nico Salva's first Ateneo-La Salle game.31–27
September 6, 2008Ateneo 65La Salle 57Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City32–27
September 21, 2008Ateneo 69La Salle 61Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals–Game 1. Rabeh Al-Hussaini exploded for 31 points in the game. The game was highlighted by Nonoy Baclao's block on Rico Maierhofer.33–27
September 25, 2008Ateneo 62La Salle 51Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals–Game 2; Ateneo wins second championship in 6 years. Chris Tiu, JVee Casio and Rico Maierhofer's last Ateneo-La Salle game. The game became controversial when Maierhofer was thrown out of the game after he allegedly flashed a dirty finger.34–27
August 9, 2009Ateneo 76La Salle 72Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityOT. Game played with a tribute to the late president Corazon Aquino. Some supporters from both sides wore yellow.35–27
August 16, 2009 Ateneo 81La Salle 65Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityRabeh Al-Hussaini, Jai Reyes, and Nonoy Baclao's last game against La Salle. The game also served as the last Ateneo-La Salle game for Coach Franz Pumaren as head coach of La Salle. Ateneo went on to win their second consecutive championship.36–27
July 24, 2010Ateneo 63La Salle 66Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityFirst win of La Salle against Ateneo since 2007. Arthur dela Cruz's first Ateneo-La Salle game.36–28
August 22, 2010 Ateneo 74La Salle 57Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityAteneo goes on to win their first three-peat in UAAP men's basketball. The Eaglets also took home the championship to make it a double three-peat, the first in the history of the two major collegiate leagues in the Philippines—UAAP and NCAA. Nico Elorde's last game against Ateneo and this is also Arthur dela Cruz's last Ateneo-La Salle Game.37–28
July 16, 2011 Ateneo 81La Salle 72Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityKiefer Ravena exploded for 24 points on his first Ateneo-La Salle game in the Seniors division. This is also Greg Slaughter's first ADMU-DLSU game since transferring to Ateneo.38–28
August 28, 2011 Ateneo 79La Salle 62Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityAteneo had a 10–0 record prior to the game and later went on to win their fourth consecutive championship.39–28
July 28, 2012 Ateneo 71La Salle 61Mall of Asia Arena, PasayThis is the first Ateneo-La Salle game held at the Mall of Asia Arena. Jeron Teng's first game against Ateneo and Nico Elorde's 1st game against La Salle since transferring to Ateneo.40–28
September 1, 2012 Ateneo 77La Salle 67Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City41–28
September 29, 2012 Ateneo 66La Salle 63Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Semifinals. Ateneo went on to win their 5th straight UAAP championship. Greg Slaughter, Nico Salva, Justin Chua and Coach Norman Black's last Ateneo-La Salle game.42–28
July 7, 2013Ateneo 73La Salle 82Mall of Asia Arena, PasayLa Salle defeats Ateneo turning Ateneo's record to 0–3. Bo Perasol and Juno Sauler's first Ateneo-La Salle game as head coaches for Ateneo and La Salle respectively. Robert Bolick's first game against Ateneo.42–29
September 1, 2013Ateneo 64La Salle 66Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityAteneo loses bid for a sixth straight UAAP Men's Basketball Championship title and misses the Final Four for the first time in 14 years after losing its last elimination round game against the UST Growling Tigers. La Salle enters the Final Four and wins the UAAP Season 76 championship title after defeating UST in the Finals. LA Revilla, Juami Tiongson, Ryan Buenafe and Frank Golla's last Ateneo-La Salle game.42–30
July 20, 2014 Ateneo 97La Salle 86Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityFirst meeting between the two teams in 2014. Ateneo defeats La Salle that sends them to a 0–2 start. Alfonzo Gotladera's first game against La Salle since transferring to Ateneo. The game also served as the first ADMU-DLSU game for Thirdy Ravena and Arvin Tolentino.43–30
August 17, 2014Ateneo 86La Salle 88Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityJeron Teng explodes for 32 points and 6 rebounds, including 17–20 from the free throw line. Ateneo lost to NU and La Salle was defeated by FEU in the Final Four. For the first time since 1993, both the Blue Eagles and the Green Archers failed to enter the UAAP Men's Basketball Finals. Robert Bolick, Norbert Torres, Almond Vosotros, Arnold Van Opstal, Chris Newsome and Nico Elorde's last ADMU-DLSU game.43–31
October 4, 2015Ateneo 76La Salle 80Mall of Asia Arena, PasayFirst meeting between the two teams in 2015. La Salle defeats Ateneo to tie with Ateneo for the 3rd. Andrei Caracut, Larry Muyang, Jollo Go, Renzo Navarro, Darryl Pascual, Jerie Pingoy, Isaac Go, Hubert Cani, Matt and Mike Nieto's first Ateneo-La Salle game.43–32
November 8, 2015 Ateneo 73La Salle 62Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityAteneo avenged its first-round loss against La Salle. Ateneo won 5 consecutive games while La Salle lost 3 in a row. For the second straight year both Ateneo and La Salle failed to enter the UAAP Finals with La Salle failing to enter the Final Four for the first time since 2011. Kiefer Ravena, Von Pessumal and Alfonzo Gotladera's last Ateneo-La Salle game. Bo Perasol and Juno Sauler's last Ateneo-La Salle game as head coaches for Ateneo and La Salle respectively. The game also served as the last ADMU-DLSU game for Arvin Tolentino, Hubert Cani and Jerie Pingoy after transferring to other UAAP schools. This was also Darryl Pascual, Larry Muyang and Renzo Navarro's last Ateneo-La Salle game as they transferred to other NCAA schools.44–32
October 2, 2016Ateneo 81La Salle 97Mall of Asia Arena, PasayLa Salle had a 6–0 record prior to the game. Coach Tab Baldwin and Aldin Ayo's first ADMU–DLSU game as head coaches for Ateneo and La Salle respectively. Ben Mbala, Aljun Melecio, Ricci Rivero, Justine Baltazar, Brent Paraiso, Mark Dyke, Jolo Mendoza, Shaun Ildefonso and Raffy Verano's first Ateneo-La Salle game.44–33
November 5, 2016 Ateneo 83La Salle 71Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityLa Salle had a 12–0 record prior to the game.45–33
December 3, 2016Ateneo 65La Salle 67Mall of Asia Arena, PasayUAAP Finals Game 1. First Ateneo-La Salle finals since 2008.45–34
December 7, 2016Ateneo 72La Salle 79Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals Game 2. Jeron Teng, Jason Perkins and Thomas Torres' last ADMU–DLSU game. This is also Shaun Ildefonso's last game as an Atenean after he decided to transfer to another UAAP school.45–35
October 8, 2017 Ateneo 76 La Salle 75Mall of Asia Arena, PasayAteneo had a 6–0 record prior to the game. Matt Nieto sinks 2 clutch freethrows to seal the win for Ateneo.46–35
November 12, 2017Ateneo 76La Salle 79Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityRegular Season Finale for both teams. Ateneo had a 13-0 record prior to the game.46–36
November 25, 2017 Ateneo 76La Salle 70Mall of Asia Arena, PasayUAAP Finals Game 1. First back-to-back Ateneo-La Salle finals since 2002. The game was marred by controversy after Ben Mbala accidentally elbowed Matt Nieto that resulted on a bloody cut above his left eye.47–36
November 29, 2017Ateneo 83La Salle 92Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals Game 2. La Salle rallied back from a 21-point deficit. The game was marred by controversy when an Ateneo fan threw a bottle to the side of the La Salle bench.47–37
December 3, 2017 Ateneo 88La Salle 86Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityUAAP Finals Game 3. Ateneo ended their five-year championship drought. Vince Tolentino, Chibueze Ikeh, Kris Porter, Abu Tratter, Ben Mbala, and Coach Aldin Ayo's last Ateneo-La Salle game. This is also the last Ateneo-La Salle game for Prince and Ricci Rivero and Brent Paraiso, as the 3 of them where struck in a controversy a few months later. Prince eventually decided to end his UAAP career while the latter 2 decided to move to other UAAP schools, respectively.48–37
October 6, 2018 Ateneo 71La Salle 55Mall of Asia Arena, PasayCoach Louie Gonzales' first ADMU-DLSU game as head coach of La Salle. SJ Belangel, Angelo Kouame, William Navarro, Matthew Daves, Brandon Bates and Encho Serrano's first Ateneo-La Salle game. This is also Joaqui Manuel's first game against Ateneo. The game was highlighted when Ateneo forced La Salle to commit a season high and worst 28 turnovers and a season low 3 assists.49–37
November 11, 2018 Ateneo 71La Salle 62Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityAteneo clinches the #1 seed and the 1st twice-to-beat advantage after beating La Salle. This is Anton Asistio, Aaron Black, Kib Montalbo, Leonard Santillan, Jollo Go, Mark Dyke and Coach Louie Gonzales' last Ateneo-La Salle game. This is also Taane Samuel's 1st and only official Ateneo-La Salle game after suffering from a Jones fracture that kept him out of the season for 2 months and eventually he decided to go professional after signing a contract with the Manawatu Jets of the NBL a few months later effectively ending his UAAP eligibility. La Salle missed the last Final Four berth after losing to UP on their last game of the regular season and against FEU in the knockout match for the #4 seed. This is also the 1st time that La Salle would not make it in the post season since 2015 after 2 straight Finals appearances for both teams. Ateneo went on to win the championship vs UP.50–37
September 8, 2019 Ateneo 81La Salle 69Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon CityCoach Gian Nazario's 1st Ateneo-La Salle game as head coach of La Salle. Jason Credo, Patrick Maagdenberg, Donn Lim, Joel Cagulangan, Francis Escandor, Jamie Malonzo, Keyshawn Evans, Ralph Cu, Tyrus Hill, Kurt Lojera and Jordan Bartlett's first ADMU-DLSU game.51–37
October 13, 2019 Ateneo 77La Salle 69Mall of Asia Arena, PasayAteneo had a 9–0 record prior to the game. Coach Gian Nazario, Keyshawn Meeker, Jamie Malonzo, James Pado, Andrei Caracut, Thirdy Ravena, Isaac Go, Adrian Wong, Matt and Mike Nieto's last Ateneo-La Salle game. Ateneo went on to win their 3rd straight championship against the UST Growling Tigers with a perfect 16-0 season win sweep record.52–37

Final Four Rankings

For comparison, these are the rankings of these two teams since the Final Four format was introduced.

Seniors' division

Juniors' division








Volleyball

Overall

In terms of total collegiate and high school volleyball titles won in the NCAA and UAAP, La Salle leads with 42 championships compared to Ateneo's 15 championships. In the seniors' division, La Salle leads Ateneo 18–9. La Salle was 4-peat NCAA men's champions from Seasons 53 to 56. The Green Spikers won their most recent UAAP titles in Seasons 64 and 66. The Lady Spikers were the first NCAA women's champions in volleyball when the tournament was introduced in NCAA Season 51 and have 11 UAAP titles. They are thrice 3-peat UAAP women's champions, and hold the distinction of having the longest appearance in the UAAP Finals in the Final Four era, from Season 71 to Season 80. La Salle is also the only women's volleyball team in UAAP history to both outright win the championship by winning all 14 elimination round games in a season, and to have advanced outright to then-best-of-5 championship series with thrice-to-beat incentives by winning all 14 elimination round games in a season for at least 2 seasons.
Ateneo won the double volleyball championship in NCAA Season 52, won its first UAAP volleyball championship in Season 76, and, by Season 77 and as of, remains the most recent school to win the double UAAP volleyball championship in the seniors' division. The Lady Eagles were back-to-back UAAP women's champions in Seasons 76 and 77, and won their third title in Season 81. The Lady Eagles became the first volleyball team in UAAP history to finish an entire season without a single loss in the Season 77 women's volleyball tournament. The Blue Eagles were 3-peat UAAP men's champions from Season 77 to Season 79, the latter marking their perfect season in the men's volleyball tournament. Ateneo stands as the only member school in the UAAP to have scored 16-0 season win sweep records in both men's and women's divisions in collegiate volleyball.
The Ateneo Lady Eagles and the De La Salle Lady Spikers have met in the championships of the UAAP for six consecutive times from Seasons 74 to 79. The Lady Eagles won back-to-back titles over La Salle in 2014 and 2015, while the Lady Spikers prevailed back-to-back in 2012 and 2013, and 2016 and 2017. Since UAAP Season 72, both Ateneo and La Salle have qualified in the postseason of women's volleyball, marking the longest joint Final Four appearance by any two UAAP volleyball teams in the league's history. Also, since UAAP Season 71, either or both Ateneo and La Salle have competed in the championship series in UAAP collegiate volleyball.
In the juniors' division, La Salle has 24 championships while Ateneo has 6. The Blue Eaglet Spikers won championship titles in NCAA Seasons 43, 45, and 48, and were 3-peat champions from Seasons 50 to 52. The De La Salle Junior Spikers won 7 championship titles under their membership stint in the NCAA which included a 4-peat championship streak along with the Green Spikers from Seasons 53 to 56. In the UAAP, they were 6-peat champions in the boys' division from Seasons 57 to 62, and have also won the title in Season 66. The Junior Lady Spikers were 5-peat champions from UAAP Seasons 57 to 61, and were 3-peat champions from Seasons 73 to 75. They also won additional titles in UAAP Seasons 65 and 81.

UAAP Season 74 Women's Volleyball Finals

For the first time in UAAP history, Ateneo and La Salle met each other at the UAAP Season 74 women's volleyball finals. The De La Salle Lady Spikers became the first volleyball team ever to automatically enter the UAAP Finals with a thrice-to-beat advantage after sweeping the elimination round. On the other hand, the Ateneo Lady Eagles, consistently ranked second throughout much of the elimination round, defeated the third-seeded UST Tigresses in the semifinals in four sets. This marks Ateneo's first entry to the UAAP volleyball finals since the school's 1978 admission into the UAAP.
Game One of the Finals was won by Ateneo in four sets, 23-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-17, marking the first recorded Ateneo victory in any UAAP volleyball championship series while halting then-league record of 24 consecutive wins by La Salle. La Salle went on to recover in Game Two in four sets, 23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-18, before sweeping Ateneo in Game Three, 25-16, 25-22, 25-13, to finish off the series in three games and win their second consecutive UAAP women's volleyball championship title. Abigail Maraño of La Salle was named as Most Valuable Player of the Season, while then-graduating La Salle team captain Charleen Cruz is currently the only women's volleyball player in UAAP history to win at least two consecutive Finals Most Valuable Player awards.

UAAP Season 75 Women's Volleyball Finals

Ateneo and La Salle faced each other once again during the UAAP Season 75 women's volleyball finals after the De La Salle Lady Spikers defeated the NU Lady Bulldogs and the Ateneo Lady Eagles defeated the Adamson Lady Falcons during the Final Four matches, both in straight sets, that were held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on February 23, 2013. The UAAP Season 75 marked the first time ever that the league's Final Four and championship volleyball matches were played at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the Mall of Asia Arena.
Game One of the Finals was played before a crowd of 17,342 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on March 2, 2013. The Lady Spikers posed a comeback win over the Lady Eagles in five sets, 20–25, 17–25, 25–22, 25–22, 15–6. La Salle eventually swept Ateneo in Game Two, 25–23, 25–20, 25–16, in front of 18,779 people at the Mall of Asia Arena, to finish the series in two games and win their eighth UAAP women's volleyball championship title. La Salle team captain Abigail Maraño and teammate Victonara Galang became the first pair of volleyball players in UAAP history to be named co-Most Valuable Players of the Season, while then-graduating La Salle player Michele Gumabao was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals.

UAAP Season 76 Women's Volleyball Finals

For the third time, Ateneo and La Salle faced each other during UAAP Season 76 women's volleyball finals. The De La Salle Lady Spikers became the first volleyball team ever to enter the UAAP Finals with a thrice-to-beat advantage after sweeping the elimination round for a second overall season. On the other hand, the Ateneo Lady Eagles, under new head coach Anusorn "Tai" Bundit, were able to reach their third consecutive finals after winning three consecutive knockout matches against fourth-seeded Adamson Lady Falcons and then second-seeded, twice-to-beat NU Lady Bulldogs under the stepladder format.
Game One of the Finals, which was held on March 5, 2014, was won by Ateneo in four sets, 17–25, 25–23, 25–13, 25–20, marking their first win against La Salle in the entire season while ending a still-standing league record of 30 consecutive wins by La Salle in UAAP women's volleyball history. Three days later, on March 8, 2014, La Salle bounced back in Game Two and defeated Ateneo in four sets, 25–14, 25–20, 19–25, 26–24. The first two games of the Finals were held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The venue of the remaining games of the Finals shifted to the Mall of Asia Arena. In Game Three, which was held on March 12, 2014, Ateneo defeated La Salle in five sets in front of the 18,095-strong crowd, 25–21, 25–23, 18–25, 16–25, 17–15, to force a winner-take-all title match on March 15, 2014. As a result, the UAAP Season 76 women's volleyball finals series became the league's longest volleyball championship series, and is, to date, the only one to last up to four games. In Game Four, the Ateneo Lady Eagles swept the De La Salle Lady Spikers, 25–23, 26–24, 25–21, to deny La Salle's second overall four-peat championship bid and become the lowest-seeded volleyball team to ever win a UAAP volleyball championship title at the Mall of Asia Arena after a 21,314-strong audience.
Ateneo's team captain Alyssa Valdez became the first volleyball player in UAAP history to win both awards of the Most Valuable Player of the Season and of the Finals, and the first UAAP athlete to win at least four awards in a single season.

UAAP Season 77 Women's Volleyball Finals

For the fourth time, Ateneo and La Salle faced each other during UAAP Season 77 women's volleyball finals. For the first time in UAAP history, the Ateneo Lady Eagles defeated the De La Salle Lady Spikers twice during the elimination rounds, and entered the finals with the thrice-to-beat advantage after amassing a 14–0 eliminations sweeps record. As of the current season, Ateneo remains the most recent women's volleyball team in the UAAP to have completed a sweep in the elimination rounds and advance to the championship round. On the other hand, the second-seeded De La Salle Lady Spikers suffered their first defeat from a non-Ateneo team in the tournament during Game One against the third-seeded NU Lady Bulldogs in the semifinals, but recovered in Game Two in four sets at the expense of then La Salle's team captain Victonara Galang's post-season injury.
Game One of the Finals, which was held on March 11, 2015 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in front of 18,363 fans, was won by Ateneo in straight sets, 25–18, 25–19, 25–19. Three days later, on March 14, 2015, watched by 20,705 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena, Ateneo swept La Salle again in straight sets, 25–22, 25–17, 25–23, becoming the league's first ever overall volleyball varsity team to achieve a 16–0 perfect season record and defeated La Salle for the second consecutive season to win the UAAP Season 77 volleyball championship title. Ateneo team captain Alyssa Valdez was named back-to-back Most Valuable Player of the Season, while Amy Ahomiro won the award as the Most Valuable Player of the Finals.

UAAP Season 78 Women's Volleyball Finals

For the fifth time, Ateneo and La Salle faced each other during UAAP Season 78 women's volleyball finals. During the first round of the eliminations, the eventually second-seeded DLSU Lady Spikers swept the season's top-seeded ADMU Lady Eagles in three straight sets to deny them a sweep of the elimination round and revert the tournament to a Regular Final Four format for the first time since Season 75. In the second round, however, Ateneo recovered in a five-set comeback win to seal their top-seed position.
After the eliminations, the Ateneo Lady Eagles swept the UP Lady Maroons during their comeback Final Four appearance after 13 years in three straight sets in the semifinals in a return trip to the finals for fifth consecutive UAAP Finals appearance, while the De La Salle Lady Spikers recovered from a shocking five-set loss in Game 1 of their Final Four match-up against the third-seeded FEU Lady Tamaraws to sweep their opponents in do-or-die Game 2 and book their eighth consecutive UAAP Finals appearance.
The UAAP Season 78 women's volleyball finals became the first championship series since the DLSU–FEU match-up in Season 71 to last up to three games under such tournament division. Game One of the Finals, which was held on April 23, 2016 and watched by 19,921 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, was won by La Salle in straight sets, 25–22, 25–22, 25–21. Four days later, on April 27, 2016, Ateneo posed a come-from-behind win against La Salle in Game Two in five sets, 18–25, 26–28, 25–17, 25–16, 15–11, in front of the 20,541-strong crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena to force a winner-take-all match on April 30, 2016. La Salle, however, recovered in four sets, 19–25, 25–21, 25–16, 25–16 in Game Three to deny Ateneo's three-peat championship bid and win their ninth overall UAAP women's volleyball championship title in front of a record 22,858-strong crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Graduating Ateneo Lady Eagles' team captain Alyssa Valdez earned her third straight award for Most Valuable Player of the Season, becoming the first UAAP women's volleyball athlete to earn three consecutive MVP awards since Ailyn Ege from FEU from Seasons 63 to 65, and the first volleyball athlete in UAAP history to win at least four overall Most Valuable Player awards. Meanwhile, Kim Kianna Dy of the De La Salle Lady Spikers was hailed as the Most Valuable Player of the Finals.

UAAP Season 79 Women's Volleyball Finals

For the sixth time, Ateneo and La Salle faced each other during UAAP Season 79 women's volleyball finals. During the first round of eliminations, the defending champions De La Salle Lady Spikers suffered a shock straight sets loss to the UP Lady Maroons but recovered in the second round of eliminations against the same team with another straight sets victory. Meanwhile, the Ateneo Lady Eagles suffered losses only to the NU Lady Bulldogs twice in the elimination rounds but swept the De La Salle Lady Spikers in the elimination rounds to secure the top seed for this season.
In the semifinal round, the De La Salle Lady Spikers won over the third-seeded UST Tigresses during the latter's comeback Final Four appearance after 5 years in four sets to book their ninth consecutive UAAP Finals appearance, while the Ateneo Lady Eagles also won against the fourth-seeded FEU Lady Tamaraws in four sets to book their sixth consecutive UAAP Finals appearance. This marked the longest streak of joint UAAP Finals appearances by any two women's volleyball teams in the league's history.
Game One of the Finals was held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on May 2, 2017 in front of 13,468 fans. The De La Salle Lady Spikers recorded their first victory against Ateneo Lady Eagles during this game for this season in four sets, 21–25, 29–27, 25–22 and 25–20. Game Two of the Finals was held again at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on May 6, 2017 in front of 20,860 fans. The De La Salle Lady Spikers won against Ateneo Lady Eagles in five sets, 19–25, 25–14, 18–25, 25–18 and 15–10, to finish the series in two games and earn their second consecutive UAAP women's volleyball title.
La Salle players Mary Joy Baron and Desiree Cheng were named as Most Valuable Player of the Season and of the Finals, respectively.

UAAP Seasons 80, 81 and 82 Women's Volleyball

Season 79 would eventually be the last of the string of six consecutive Ateneo–La Salle match-ups in the UAAP women's volleyball finals dating back from Season 74. The Lady Eagles, after losing twice to De La Salle Lady Spikers, FEU Lady Tamaraws and NU Lady Bulldogs in the first round, and UP Lady Maroons in the second round of the eliminations, were booted out from finals contention in Season 80 as the third-seeded team by that season's hosting school and second-seeded team FEU Lady Tamaraws in four sets. This marked the first time that Ateneo lost in the Final Four with a twice-to-beat disadvantage since their Final Four showdown against La Salle in Season 73.
Meanwhile, the top-seeded De La Salle Lady Spikers, after losing only to both Adamson Lady Falcons and NU Lady Bulldogs in the first round of the eliminations, swept the fourth-seeded NU Lady Bulldogs in their Final Four matchup to pose their tenth consecutive UAAP Finals appearance in 2018. La Salle would eventually sweep FEU in the finals to win their eleventh UAAP women's volleyball title in 2018. Then-graduating La Salle player Dawn Macandili became the first volleyball libero in UAAP history to win the award for Most Valuable Player of the Finals.
In Season 81, however, La Salle lost back-to-back games against UP Lady Maroons and UST Golden Tigresses in the first round of the eliminations, and lost back-to-back games against FEU Lady Tamaraws in the last game of the eliminations and the second-seed playoff to UST. La Salle was eventually dethroned in their Final Four match-up against UST the same year, ending their third overall bid for four straight championships and still-standing league record of decade-long appearance in the UAAP Finals. This season marked the first time that no green-colored school has competed in the UAAP women's volleyball finals in the 21st century, and the first time that the defending UAAP women's volleyball champions have been dethroned in the season outside the championship series since FEU's Final Four ousting of UST in Season 70.
Meanwhile, the top-seeded Ateneo Lady Eagles, after losing only to La Salle twice in the elimination rounds, won in their third consecutive year of Final Four match-up against fourth-seeded FEU to pose their return to the finals after missing the cut in the previous year. This marked the first time since Season 69 that both of the previous season's finalists were eliminated before the UAAP women's volleyball championship round. The Lady Eagles went on to win the finals against UST, 2–1, in the first ever Ateneo–UST UAAP volleyball finals showdown, to claim their third women's volleyball title. This marked the first time that the eventual UAAP women's volleyball champions overcame a finals series game deficit to win the title since Season 76. Then-graduating team captains Cherry Ann Rondina of UST and Bea de Leon of Ateneo were hailed the Most Valuable Player awards of the Season and Finals, respectively. This marks Ateneo's sixth overall collegiate volleyball championship in the UAAP as of the current season.
Ateneo's UAAP women's volleyball title defense campaign, however, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic that halted all remaining league tournaments in 2020. The first Ateneo–La Salle women's volleyball elimination game became UAAP's last match to be held in the same year.

Women's volleyball tournament results

The rivalry started to gain recognition in UAAP Season 74 when both teams met in the Finals for the first time. Head-to-head championships between the teams have La Salle leading 4 championships to 2. The Ateneo Lady Eagles and the De La Salle Lady Spikers have fought in the UAAP Finals for six consecutive times from Seasons 74 to 79, where the Lady Eagles won in 2014 and 2015 while the Lady Spikers won in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2017.

UAAP women's volleyball results

Other sports

Both schools have also competed in various sports including badminton, baseball, chess, football, judo, softball, swimming, taekwondo and poomsae, tennis, table tennis, as well as track and field during various periods of the NCAA and UAAP.

Football (soccer)

Football, the most popular sport in the world, was also reported to be the top sport in the Philippines from the 1920s, 1930s, and shortly after World War II. In terms of the total number of collegiate and high school titles in the NCAA and UAAP combined La Salle leads Ateneo 67–19.
La Salle has the most number of collegiate championships in NCAA history with 21 versus Ateneo with 6. The Green Achers were 9-peat champions from 1932 through 1940. In the UAAP La Salle also leads with a combined 15 titles, made up of 4 men's titles and 11 women's titles, versus Ateneo's 8 men's titles.
In the NCAA juniors division, La Salle has 30 titles versus Ateneo's 3 titles. The De La Salle Junior Archers were twice 5-peat champions from 1937 through 1941 and 1971 through 1976. In the UAAP, the Ateneo Blue Eaglets have 2 titles while the De La Salle Junior Archers have 1 title. In the inaugural UAAP Juniors Football Championship in 2007–08, De La Salle Zobel won the demonstration championship. Ateneo won the demonstration championship the following year. In 2009–10, Ateneo won the first official UAAP Juniors Football Championship.
For the De La Salle Zobel boys' football team, they have maintained 5 years of high school football championships in the RIFA cup 1 and 2 where Ateneo was not successful in winning any match against De La Salle Zobel which totaled 9 championship titles from 2001 to 2005. From 2001 to 2005, De La Salle Zobel were RIFA 1 and 2 champions 9 times, most of them back to back champions in every year. The only loss De La Salle Zobel encountered was a loss to Xavier high school during the RIFA 2 championship in 2004.

Badminton

Ateneo has 11 titles whereas La Salle has 6 in terms of total seniors' badminton collegiate championships. The last men's badminton crown for La Salle came in 2007 and for Ateneo in 2013. Ateneo also won championship titles in 1995, 1996, 2001, 2003, and 2011. In women's badminton, La Salle won in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009, and 2017. Ateneo won in 2003, 2012, 2013, 2018, and 2019. Both schools have had fairly strong teams over a number of years in collegiate badminton.

Taekwondo and Poomsae

In another popular collegiate sport, taekwondo, La Salle has 9 collegiate titles whereas Ateneo has no titles to date. In the juniors' division, Ateneo were 3-peat champions from UAAP Seasons 62 to 64. In poomsae, La Salle has 3 championships while Ateneo has yet to win a title.

Judo

In judo, Ateneo has the upper hand with 8 collegiate titles while La Salle has 2. La Salle's men's team won their first title in 1992 while the women's team won their first title in 2013 which ended La Salle's 21-year title drought. La Salle almost won their first Judo championships in Season 71 with 3 gold medals and the Ateneo with 2. Ateneo was able to clinch championships with bronze medals that boosted them to the overall championship. In the juniors' division, Ateneo has 9 championships while La Salle has yet to win a title.

Swimming

In collegiate swimming, La Salle has 16 titles versus Ateneo with 13 titles. La Salle was 3-peat champion in the men's division in 2000, 2001, and 2002 as well as being back-to-back champions in the women's division in 2002 and 2003. Ateneo won both men's and women's titles in UAAP Seasons 77 and 78, as well as Seasons 80 to 82. In the juniors' division, La Salle has 9 NCAA titles and 4 UAAP titles for a total of 13 championship titles. Ateneo won all 12 of its championship titles in the UAAP.

Baseball

In collegiate baseball, Ateneo leads La Salle 6–5. Prior to Ateneo's 10-year curse, in 1991, La Salle lost to Ateneo 10–5 for Ateneo's last victory before the infamous losing streak. It took 13 years before Ateneo could beat La Salle when in 2004, Johnel Clemente's game-winning RBI single off La Salle pitcher Angel Gabriel nailed Ateneo's victory, 9–8. In 2006, Ateneo handed La Salle its first humiliating 10-run loss, 17–7, on Jonathan Sibal's 2-RBI single off pitcher Jeff Ardio which ended the game prematurely at the 8th inning. La Salle actually led 7–4 in the 4th inning before Ateneo exploded for 9 runs and put the game out of reach. In 2009, Ateneo and La Salle combined for what may be the highest scoring game in UAAP Baseball history when Ateneo defeated La Salle, 27–14. In UAAP Season 78, La Salle dethroned Ateneo who were the 3-peat defending champions. Both teams would meet again in the UAAP Season 81 Finals, where La Salle won their fifth championship title after defeating Ateneo in Game 3, 11–9. In the juniors' division, Ateneo has 2 NCAA titles and 3 UAAP titles for a total of 5 championship titles. La Salle won all 4 of its championship titles in the UAAP.

Trivia

Due to the numerous socialites watching the games live, La Salle head coach Franz Pumaren said that "The janitors in the Araneta Coliseum would often say, 'If there's an Ateneo–La Salle game, once everybody's out of the coliseum, it still smells good because of all the socialites watching." In the late 1990s, former first daughter and actress Kris Aquino would call Ateneo head coach Joe Lipa to check on the team's progress, according to Ricky Dandan, Lipa's former assistant and brother of former NU Bulldogs coach Manny. Joel Banal, Ateneo's head coach from 2002 to 2003, used to have nightmares about La Salle's dreaded press, and considers the 2002 championship as his greatest accomplishment, after which Ateneo alums would pay for his restaurant bills. Moreover, Ateneo alumni installed the playing floor on the 2000 NBA All-Star Game to the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center, while ICTSI shipping magnate Billionaire Enrique Razon, Jr. donated US$1 million to refurbish La Salle's sporting facilities at the Enrique M. Razon Sports Center.
Former DLSU Basketball head team manager and financier – Billionaire Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. of San Miguel Corporation on his part never fails to give continuous support to all the endeavours of his beloved Alma Mater. Ambassador Danding, on his 78th birthday celebration in 2013 generously gave a P250 million check to DLSU in grateful appreciation for his Lasallian education.
During the collegiate games between both schools, notably basketball, televised coverage would occasionally flash famous and notable alumni from entertainment, politics, business, education, and other fields watching and cheering from the sidelines. Former Ateneo cheerleader and current Senator Richard Gordon is renowned for sideline antics like jumping on the scorer's table to rile up the crowd. Gary Valenciano and Ogie Alcasid former LSGH Kundirana members entertained the crowds during the UAAP Season 73 opening ceremonies hosted by DLSU for the university's 2011 centennial celebration.
Boxing Coach Freddie Roach, world-renowned trainer of eight-division boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, was in attendance and gave support to the De La Salle Green Archers that battled against the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles on the first elimination round match-up between the two teams in UAAP Season 79. “I'm a Notre Dame and Boston Celtic fan. I like Green coz I'm Irish. I had a short pep talk with the coaching staff and the DLSU Green Archers. I like the guys.”
Actress Angelica Panganiban is known for attending the games of the Ateneo Lady Eagles, while comedy queen Ai-Ai delas Alas has shown support for the De La Salle Lady Spikers.
Orlando Magic player Gilbert Arenas described the Ateneo–La Salle game as "you split the crowd in half, 50–50. One side of their gym was blue and one side of their gym was green and everybody was just yelling."