Eagles, Archers enter Champs League semis

Ateneo and La Salle turned back their respective quarterfinal rivals yesterday to remain on track for a possible confrontation in the 2008 Philippine Collegiate Champions League at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The Eagles uncorked a torrid fourth quarter run to down the Mapua Cardinals, 67-53, while the Archers leaned on JV Casio to repulse the University of the East Warriors, 75-72, in a pair of Last Eight matches before a big Sunday crowd.

The reigning UAAP champions played without Chris Tiu, Jobe Nkemakolam and rookie Ryan Buenafe but got the job done just the same to advance to the Final Four on Saturday.

The Eagles will play the winner of the quarterfinal duel pitting Far Eastern U and Jose Rizal tomorrow at The Arena in Pasig.

La Salle, swept by Ateneo in this year’s UAAP finals, will take on the winner of the last quarterfinal clash between three-peat NCAA champion San Beda and NCRAA and Fr. Martin Cup title-holder Arellano U in the event backed by PLDT, Smart, Fil-Oil, Flying V and The Philippine STAR.

“We’re lucky to survive this game because fortunately we had the deeper bench,” said La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, who also missed the services of guards Simon Atkins and LA Revilla.

If Ateneo and La Salle sustain their form and hurdle their next assignments, another blockbuster championship could be in the works in the league featuring the country’s top collegiate squads.

Casio scored nine of his 11 points in the final period, including the three free throws that saved the day for the Archers, who had to fight off the Warriors’ fightback in a game that featured nine lead changes and eight deadlocks.

Reigning UAAP MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini and this year’s UAAP Finals MVP Nonoy Baclao combined for 29 points and 20 rebounds while American Kirk Long stepped up to fire 10 points for the Eagles.

The Cardinals kept the game close in the first three quarters despite playing with a lean seven-man rotation but just couldn’t stop the Eagles in the last period. Ian Mazo, Allan Mangahas and Neil Pascual scored 14, 12 and 10 points, respectively for Mapua.

“They played box-in-one that we seldom see, we also struggled with our outside shooting but it was a good learning experience for us,” said Ateneo mentor Norman Black.