MANILA, Philippines - League-leading Far Eastern U seeks to move closer to the twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four when it guns for its 10th win against cellar-dwelling Adamson today in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tournament at the MOA Arena.
The Tams clinched a semis berth when they posted their eighth straight victory and 9-1 overall via a 71-67 disposal of University of the East last Saturday. This early qualification gave them four matches to work on whatever still needs working while gunning for the semis incentive.
“To tell you honestly, it’s not in our minds. We know we’re going to get to the Final Four so why bother thinking about it? We just want to focus on the next one when we play Adamson,” said FEU coach Nash Racela.
With a 2-9 card, the Falcons are out of it all but the San Marcelino-based squad could play spoiler like they did in Saturday’s 75-74 upset of La Salle.
“They come off a big win so we can’t really take them for granted kahit nasa ibaba sila (even if they’re in the cellar),” said Racela.
“I know the Final Four is already beyond reach but we’ll salvage whatever we can; we want to end the season on a respectable note,” AdU coach Mike Fermin said.
The Falcons nearly dropped the axe on FEU the first time they met, seizing a six-point lead in the fourth before conceding, 60-64. Import Papi Sarr banged in 22 points and grabbed 26 rebounds that time and Racela tasked his wards to contain him in the 2 p.m. match.
“Sarr has been playing really well; he dominated us in the first round and I think that’s part of his plan again. We’ll try to stop him,” he said.
Fourth-running La Salle (5-5) and No. 5 National U (4-6) tangle at 4 p.m. in a crucial showdown of teams looking to turn things around and catch the last semis ticket. The two trail third-running Ateneo, which stands on the threshold of the Final Four with a 7-4 slate.
“We have to stay positive. We’re not giving up. You never know what’s gonna happen. There’s always a miracle; we hope maulit uli yun,” said coach Eric Altamirano of embattled champ NU.
DLSU mentor Juno Sauler admitted the urgency but refused to call it desperation. “Not really desperation. We just have to play the way we should be playing in the last four games of the second round.”