Archers move in for kill vs Eagles

An SRO crowd is expected at the Araneta Coliseum today when La Salle and Ateneo square off in another dream Final Four matchup for the second finals slot in the 67th UAAP season.

Defending champion Far Eastern University, the No. 1 team after eliminations, secured the first berth to the best-of-three finals last Thursday after beating No. 4 University of the East at the Philsports Arena.

With the Tamaraws waiting in the wings, the Green Archers and the Blue Eagles will have to slug it out starting at 4 p.m. with La Salle, the No. 2 team, enjoying a formidable twice-to-beat advantage.

Just to make sure that the Blue Eagles are free of any distractions going into today’s game, team management has booked eight rooms at the Discovery Suites along Ortigas to serve as their quarters.

The Blue Eagles have been quartered three to a room as early as Friday night and have only left the hotel for practice at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Complex inside the Ateneo campus yesterday morning.

The Green Archers, for their part, held practice yesterday afternoon at the Big Dome and did not find the need to be quartered. "Kanya-kanyang uwian mamaya," said Joseph Yeo.

Coach Koy Banal of FEU said he’ll be at the Big Dome this afternoon to watch the game live. He’ll be quietly seated at courtside with pen and paper on hand along with his coaching staff.

La Salle defeated Ateneo for the No. 2 position last Tuesday and only has to win today’s game to book a return trip to the finals. La Salle won four straight crowns until 2001 but missed last year’s finals where FEU defeated Ateneo.

La Salle and Ateneo also met in the Final Four last year. It was a classic, emotional and highly-physical matchup where the Blue Eagles, the 2002 champions, leaned on a twice-to-beat edge for a third straight finals appearance.

Tickets to today’s game have been sold out since last Thursday. Only general admission tickets will be made available to the public starting at 9 a.m. at the Big Dome’s ticket booths.

La Salle has won its last seven games, a streak only matched this year by Ateneo which swept the first round. But the Blue Eagles faltered in the second round, going 3-4 before losing to the Green Archers last Tuesday.