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NOW, it
all boils down to one game.
University of the East (UE) has ducked talk about the
“S” word for some time, but with one game left in the
preliminaries, the Red Warriors can’t escape the fact
that they are on the verge of history.
UE tries
to become only the second team in the annals of the
University Athletic Association of the Philippines to
sweep the elimination round when it faces De La Salle U
in Season 70 of the men’s basketball tournament today at
the Araneta Coliseum.
“I’m
getting the vibe that this is it—this is our time,” said
Marcy Arellano.
“This is
our best chance [of winning the title], so we won’t let
go of this chance, we’ll give our best,” the UE team
captain added.
A
victory over the Archers won’t exactly be icing on the
cake for a UE team that is on a mission this season. If
the Warriors finish with an undefeated record, they gain
an automatic berth to the final round and still need to
win in a best-of-three series.
But just
being in the championship round will already be an
accomplishment in itself for UE—a school that has not
been to a title series since 1990.
The UE-De
La Salle tussle is set 4 p.m.
The
first game between Santo Tomas U and Far Eastern U (FEU)
at 2 p.m. likewise has Final-Four implications. An FEU
victory will force another UST-FEU game to decide the
fourth semifinal team.
“We have
to be consistent, that’s all we have to do [against De
La Salle]. No let up,” said Dindo Pumaren.
“We’ve
been in situations before when we have to face an acid
test but the complexion of the boys’ games didn’t
change. I think they can hold their own,” the
fourth-year UE coach added.
In the
first round, De La Salle (9-4) couldn’t keep in step
with UE, losing 96-76. In today’s rematch, however, more
than school pride or family bragging rights is on the
line.
A win by
the Archers, who are currently tied for second and third
places with the idle Ateneo Blue Eagles, gives them a
better shot at grabbing the coveted twice-to-beat
incentive.
“We
always play to win, whether it’s against our brother or
our wife,” said De La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, whose
team is coming off an 89-87 heartbreaker to the Ateneans.
“We’ll definitely give [UE] a run for their money.”
“We’re
not looking too far ahead,” said Dindo Pumaren, when
asked if he is predicting a championship. “We’re just
going for win No. 14, we’re not thinking about anything
else.”
The
Warriors will bank on a solid starting unit (led by
Arellano and Mark Borboran, UE’s leading scorer) and a
roster that can go 10-man deep.
The
Archers, who have a relatively shallower bench, will
rely on the Big Three of Ty Tang, JV Casio and Rico
Maierhofer.
Of equal
significance is the UST-FEU face-off.
A
victory by UST (8-5) gives the defending champions the
fourth semifinal seat. The most complicated scenario at
the end of the elimination round Saturday is a possible
three-way tie at 9-5 among UST, De La Salle and Ateneo.
In such a scenario, UST gains the No. 2 spot because of
a superior quotient.
For its
part, FEU needs to beat UST twice in a row in order to
earn a Final-Four slot. If they win, the Tamaraws tie
the Tigers with an 8-6 record to force the do-or-die
match.
“’We
didn’t believe we would go as far as this, and we’re
already happy with what we’ve done,” said rookie FEU
coach Glen Capacio. “But since we’re here now, we will
do all our best to go farther.”
Capacio’s Tamaraws won handily over the defending
champions, 81-66, in the first round, and at one point
during the season was in the thick of the fight atop the
leaderboard until key losses to Ateneo and De La Salle
had FEU fighting for semifinal life.
Forwards
Marnel Baracael and JR Cawaling lead the pack for the
Tamaraws, while leading Most Valuable Player candidate
Jervy Cruz and Twin Towers tandem Khasim Mirza are at
the forefront for UST.
Standings— x-UE 13-0, x-Ateneo 9-4, x-La Salle 9-4,
y-UST 8-5, FEU 7-6, NU 5-8, Adamson 1-12, UP 0-13.
(x)—clinched semifinals slot; (y)—clinched playoff
berth. |
