STANDINGS
UP 6-0
La Salle 5-1
UE 4-2
Adamson 3-3
UST 3-3
Ateneo 1-5
NU 1-5
FEU 1-5
Games Saturday
(Mall of Asia Arena)
4:30 p.m – FEU vs UST
6:30 p.m. – Ateneo vs NU
By MARK REY MONTEJO
Expect wild and dramatic finishes as teams in the lower half of the standings slug it out with all four teams determined to end their first round campaigns on a winning note in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Set to clash in the curtain raiser at 4:30 p.m. are University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University while Ateneo collides with National University at 6:30 p.m.
The Tigers are tied with Adamson for fourth to fifth places at 3-3 while NU, FEU and Ateneo are at the tail-end with similar 1-5 records.
That makes Saturday’s matches the more interesting since all four teams intend to enter the second round with a winning feeling.
After their splendid start this year, the Tigers sustained back-to-back losses – the latest was against league-leading University of the Philippines, 81-70, last Wednesday that pulled them down in the standings.
But the Pido Jarencio-mentored squad is ready to pour it all with versatile guard Forthsky Padrigao, Mo Tounkara and Nic Cabanero aching to stop the team’s bleeding.
“The second round is going to be fun…We have practice, we’re gonna watch films of our games and try to correct our mistakes,” said Tounkara. “We need to prepare for the second round for sure.”
The 6-foot-8 big man from Mali is hoping to re-produce the numbers he set the last time that saw him log 21 points and five rebounds.
Same thing for Cabanero and Padrigao who tallied 15 and 14 points, respectively.
But the Tamaraws are going into the game reinvigorated by their stunning 66-65 win over the Blue Eagles – thanks to the heroics of Jorick Bautista, Royce Alforque, Rey Pasaol, Mo Konateh and Veejay Pre.
For the Blue Eagles to prevail, Jared Bahay, Shawn Tuano, Kris Porter and Joshua Lazaro should play extra-ordinarily from start to finish.
Out to lead NU are Steve Nash Enriquez, Jolo Manansala and Kenshin Padrones.
Like Ateneo, NU is out to arrest a four-game losing run.
