UNIVERSITY of the East hopes to set aside all the second round struggles by pulling a reversal of University of the Philippines and catch the last Final Four bus in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament today (Wednesday) at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
After their first two scheduled duels last month were postponed due to different circumstances, the Red Warriors and the Fighting Maroons finally face off in the lone men’s game at 5:30 p.m.
UE saw its 5-2 first round run evaporate after losing five of the last six contests to drop to fourth place at 6-7.
UP, already assured of a Final Four berth and the twice-to-beat advantage and will play No. 3 University of Santo Tomas for a place in the best-of-three Finals, hopes to close out the elimination round with back-to-back victories.
Adamson University, which will take on also-ran Ateneo on Saturday at the San Juan arena, will be an interested spectator.
The Falcons, who were still in contention at 5-8 despite last Saturday’s 49-75 loss to the Growling Tigers, are hoping for a Red Warriors defeat and a victory over the Blue Eagles to forge a playoff for the No. 4 spot.
A UE victory will eliminate Adamson and will arrange a Final Four showdown with defending champion and top-ranked La Salle. The Red Warriors, who are eyeing to end a 15-year Final Four drought, will end up tied with UST at 7-7, but the Growling Tigers will hold the tiebreaker, having beaten UE twice in the elims.
All is not lost for the Red Warriors if they fail to hurdle UP, as UE can clinch the remaining Final Four berth if the Falcons drop their final elimination round game against Ateneo.
The Red Warriors will have Nigerian center Precious Momowei after serving his one-game suspension in last week’s 67-71 loss to the Blue Eagles.
As the Fighting Maroons warm up for the Final Four, coach Goldwin Monteverde wanted to see his troops motivated and remain sharp even without nothing to play.
“Every time you have to battle it out until the end, it makes you proud as a coach,” said Monteverde after UP defeated Far Eastern University, 86-78, last Saturday.
In the junior high school division, UE aims to tally its 12th consecutive win against a winless University of the Philippines Integrated School at 8 a.m.
Far Eastern University-Diliman, meanwhile, looks to book the second Final Four ticket in the division when it clashes against reigning champion National University Nazareth School in a rematch of last year’s finals at 10 a.m.
De La Salle Zobel and University of Santo Tomas hope to bolster their respective Final Four bids further when they battle Ateneo de Manila University and Adamson University at 12 nn and 2 p.m., respectively.
