Against blue eagles Tams eye Final 4 playoff berth

Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

2 p.m. – FEU vs ADMU

4 p.m. – UST vs AdU

MANILA, Philippines - Back in the groove after a mild slump, pacesetting Far Eastern U seeks to charge ahead and secure at least a playoff for a Final Four berth today when it battles defending champion Ateneo in the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tams, who broke a two-game skid with a scrambling, morale-boosting 98-94 double overtime victory over University of the East Warriors last Sunday, target their ninth triumph in 11 outings in the 2 p.m. match against the surging Blue Eagles (5-4).

Meanwhile, the UAAP sacked UE’s big man Charles Mammie and guard Lord Casajeros for unsportsmanlike fouls against FEU’s Terrence Romeo in their match last Sunday.

Mammie was meted a two-game ban while Casajeros was suspended for one match for their actions against the Tams star.

The UAAP also suspended La Salle’s Thomas Torres for one game in the wake of his second unsportsmanlike foul in their 85-63 triumph over University of the Philippines last Saturday.

FEU Baby Tams’ JJ Domingo likewise got a one-game suspension in the juniors division.

The hulking Mammie bumped Romeo while the latter was launching a three-point shot. Mammie was previously suspended for accumulating two unsportsmanlike fouls in the first round and was warned that a similar offense would result in harsher penalty.

Casajeros was sacked for throwing a fist on Romeo. He already got a previous warning in UE’s first-round meeting with Adamson.

Struggling University of Santo Tomas (4-5) and Adamson (3-7) aim to get out of their respective humps when they clash at 4 p.m.

“We’ll approach this game the same way as the others,” said FEU coach Nash Racela.

The Morayta-based cagers refused to give up despite blowing an 18-point lead in regulation, wiping out a seven-point deficit inside 22 seconds to force the second overtime before outlasting the Warriors for the victory.

The Recto-based squad (5-4) was just the first of three tough assignments FEU will be facing this week.

“Real tough schedule. Coming off two losses and then we’ll immediately face three heavyweights, UE, Ateneo (today) and UST (on Sunday). It’s going to be tough but we’ll do our homework,” said Racela.

The Eagles are on the rise after a slow start, stringing up four consecutive victories to vault into fourth spot with 5-4. They thrashed Adamson, 79-66, three days before.

“Right now, we don’t really focus on individual teams but how we can improve as a team defensively,” said ADMU coach Bo Perasol.

“Like for example FEU, the kind of defense we should have shown against Adamson is the kind of defense we’re going to show to them. No specific tweaking for FEU or La Salle. It’s just that we need to really focus the minds of the players that yes, we still have a chance and we can do it.” 

The Eagles went above .500 for the first time following their disposal of skidding AdU but he stressed they are still far off their target.

“This win will be useless if we won’t take the next games. Our goal is to be in the Top 4 and for that to happen, we need to win. This is the gauntlet time so we need to win those games ahead,” Perasol said.

Ravena, now full-strength after an injury early in the season, is expected to lead the Eagles against Terrence Romeo, who fired 30 markers in last game, and the returning Garcia.

“We’re happy with our record but we can’t be satisfied because our goal is not to finish winning but to win a six-peat. We have to take it one game at a time. We’re getting better but we have to remember that the other teams are also getting better,” said Ravena.