TEAM STANDINGS
La Salle 12-2 (semifinal clinched w/ bonus)
UP 10-3 (semifinal clinched w/ bonus)
UST 7-7 (semifinal clinched)
UE 6-7
Adamson 5-8
FEU 5-9 (eliminated)
NU 5-9 (eliminated)
Ateneo 4-9 (eliminated)
Games Wednesday
(FilOil EcoOil Centre, San Juan City)
5:30 p.m. – UP vs UE
By MARK REY MONTEJO
University of the East has two chances to finally book a return ticket to the UAAP semis after 15 years – one is to beat No. 2 seed University of the Philippines for the second straight time, and the other is for Ateneo to prevail over the fifth-running Adamson.
The first would need the Warriors another extraordinary effort to hurdle the back-to-form Maroons in their 5:30 p.m. showdown at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Though the Warriors outsmarted the Maroons in the first round, 81-71, it does not guarantee that they can do it again considering that the Diliman-based squad is as determined as the Recto-based team to go into the next round with a “winning feeling”.
If they prevail, the Warriors would join early qualifiers La Salle (12-2), UP (10-3) and University of Santo Tomas (7-7) in the next round.
But if they fail for the fifth straight time, UE’s only other way to make it to the Final Four is for Ateneo to get back at Adamson on Saturday, Nov. 23.
The Warriors lost their last four games and remained at 6-7, while the Falcons slid to 5-8 following a lopsided loss to the Tigers last week.
The last time UE advanced to the Final Four was in 2009 or in Season 72 where Paul Lee and Elmer Espiritu led the Warriors to the championship round against the Ateneo Eagles.
UE lost to Ateneo in that tense duel, 2-1.
The fourth qualifier would be determined via a tiebreak in the event the Warriors lose to the Maroons, and the Falcons triumph over the Eagles.
For UE to end its alarming skid, it must squeeze the best out of Precious Momowei, Wello Lingolingo, Rainer Maga, John Abate, and Ethan Galang.
UP, for one, is spearheaded by JD Cagulangan, Gerry Abadiano, Quentin Millora-Brown, Aldous Torculas, and high-flying forward Francis Lopez – the same guys who delivered big in the team’s 86-78 triumph last weekend over the FEU Tamaraws.
