Eaglets aim for 14th in row, outright berth

MANILA, Philippines - Three-peat-seeking Ateneo guns for a sweep of the eliminations today as it squares off with National University in the UAAP Season 73 juniors basketball tournament at the Arena in San Juan.

The Eaglets (13-0) take on the second-running Bullpups (10-3) at 2:45 p.m., their sights set on the outright berth in the championship round for a thrice-to-beat incentive.

If ever, the Katipunan-based team led by Kiefer Ravena and Von Pessumal will be bringing the broom for the second time in five years, having gone 12-0 in a La Salle-less preliminaries in 2006. The then Bacon Austria-led squad went on to win the crown that season via a 2-1 win over FEU-FERN in the finals.

Thwarting a sweep and forging a Final Four now lie on the shoulders of the Bullpups, who are enjoying probably their best season in the high school play. The Bullpups had their most fiery start in years, 4-0, before tumbling to Ateneo, 82-64, in their first-round encounter.

Meanwhile, fourth-running De La Salle-Zobel (7-6) seeks to boost its own bid for the playoffs against FEU (6-7) in the 1 p.m. encounter.