UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas, with Adamson University and Far Eastern University hanging on its cottails, faces a National University side trying to salvage any hopes of reaching the Final Four via the backdoor in the UAAP Season 87 collegiate men’s basketball tournament today (Wednesday) at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Growling Tigers, who at 5-6 are clinging to a one-game lead over the Falcons and the Tamaraws in the race for the No. 4 spot, are wary of the Bulldogs, who posted one of the biggest upsets in the tournament, at 6:30 p.m.
FEU, which has won three of its four second round games, hopes to pull off a reversal of defending champion De La Salle at 3:30 p.m.
Coming off a wire-to-wire 67-47 victory over University of the Philippines last Sunday, NU moved in a tie with Ateneo at 3-8, two games behind UST in the chase for the last Final Four berth.
“Finally nakuha namin yung panalo namin sa second round. Finally, at least sa araw ng patay, nabuhay lahat ng mga player ko kahit papaano. They delivered kung ano ‘yung kailangan naming gawin, then they really enjoyed kung ano yung ginagawa namin talaga,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Jeff Napa.
Even third-running University of the East, which struggled in the second round after an impressive 5-2 start, is not yet out the woods.
The Red Warriors (6-5) are just separated by two games between the Falcons and the Tamaraws, and even the Growling Tigers can dislodge the Recto-based dribblers at the No. 3 spot.
The league-leading Green Archers, with a 10-1 record, have already secured a twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four and their return match against the Fighting Maroons on Sunday could potentially decide the No. 1 ranking.
Sporting a 9-2 slate, UP is already assured of a playoff for the No. 2 spot. The 20-point loss to the Bulldogs foiled the Fighting Maroons’ bid to sew up the remaining twice-to-beat slot in the Final Four.
UST is playing for the first time since Oct. 27, ending a three-game losing streak with a 79-70 victory over FEU.
“It’s a total team effort. Lahat nagcontribute mula coaching staff, mga players. Three-game losing streak kami kaya kailangan makabalik… Basta kami ang iniisip namin, ‘yong last three games, do-or-die games na ang mindset namin,” said Tigers head coach Pido Jarencio.
The win, which completed an elimination round head-to-head sweep of the Tamaraws, was the needed shot in the arm for the Growling Tigers, whose losing run was highlighted by a stunning 64-67 loss to the Blue Eagles at their home court last Oct. 19.
Although its Final Four hopes are getting slimmer by the day, NU is looking forward to ending the season strong. By becoming a spoiler to UST’s hopes will be a good follow-up for coach Jeff Napa’s side to its big win over UP.
In the women’s division, NU and UST will clash at 12 noon in a rematch of last season’s Finals.
The Lady Bulldogs are gunning for an 11th consecutive win to move closer to an outright championship berth.
FEU and De La Salle square off at 10 a.m.
In the opening match, FEU-Diliman, which is coming off a two-week layoff, will seek a bounce back win and close in on a Final Four spot in the junior high school boys’ tournament, facing De La Salle-Zobel.
Games Wednesday
(SM Mall of Asia Arena)
8 a.m. – FEU-D vs DLSZ (JHS)
10 a.m. – FEU vs DLSU (Women)
12 noon – NU vs UST (Women)
3:30 p.m. – FEU vs DLSU (Men)
6:30 p.m. – NU vs UST (Men)
