National University clinched the first finals berth while Letran and Adamson arranged a mouth-watering showdown for the other slot in the PG Flex Inter-Secondary tournament Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Veacon Hope Center in Caloocan City.
Playing minus leading scorer Collins Akowe, the NU Bullpups needed a huge fourth quarter performance to finally dispatch the Junior Pirates, 62-49, in a win that stretched their winning streak in the 8-team pre-season tournament to six games.
More importantly, the hard-earned victory enabled the Bullpups to clinch top seed regardless of the outcome of their game against Philippine Christian University-Dasmarinas Baby Dolphins on Sunday, Oct. 22.
NU’s final opponent in the winner-take-all clash of the short tournament will be known also on Sunday when Letran and Adamson collide for the No. 2 seed at the close of the elimination round.
Drawing 13 points from Syrex Silorio, the Letran Squires defeated the FEU Baby Tamaraws, 65-56, while the Adamson Falcons survived Ateneo’s furious comeback for a 51-45 win.
That improved their records to 5-1 going into their crucial match while FEU and Ateneo slipped to 3-3 and 2-4 marks, respectively.
In the other game, the Baby Dolphins nailed their second win in six games with an 82-57 drubbing of the University of Batangas Junior Brahmans.