FEU Tams eye berth in Champions League finals

Far Eastern University hopes to join fellow UAAP teams University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines, Adamson, De La Salle, National University and University of the East as automatic seeds in the Champions League national championships in November.

Except for the defending UAAP champion Ateneo, which missed the services of stars Wesley Gonzales and Rich Alvarez and lost to the San Beda Red Lions Tuesday, all UAAP teams in the Grudge Games have won their respective matches.

The FEU Tamaraws know which company they prefer.

Problem is the St. Francis Doves, their 4 p.m. opponents at the Makati Coliseum, have no plans either of missing an outright berth to the Round-of-32 Champions League finals.

The top four teams in the UAAP, NCAA and CESAFI (Cebu), plus the champions of NCRAA, CUSA, NAASCU, UCAA, Southern NCAA, BEAL-Baguio, UCAAP-Dagupan, NOPCEA-Bacolod, ISAA-Iloilo, PRISAA-Davao and Inter-School-Dumaguete are seeded to the tournament proper.

If any of the following schools fail to make the grade in their respective mother leagues, Las Piñas College, UST, University of Manila, UP, Adamson, La Salle, Emilio Aguinaldo College, San Beda and UE, by virtue of their performances in the Grudge Games, get outright tickets nonetheless.

FEU, a last-minute entry last year after La Salle begged off following the death of one of its players, beat St. Francis in the cross-over semifinals, a score the Doves would love to settle.

Battling for a similar automatic spot at 2 p.m. are St. Clare-Caloocan and University of Assumption-Pampanga.

UE, which defeated FEU in the finals last year, banked on Paul Artadi and Olan Omiping in whitewashing Lyceum, 83-69, Thursday.