UAAP Final Four bids, continues to tighten up

UNIVERSITY of the East (UE) Red Warriors will look to challenge the solo second seed bid of the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in UAAP Season 87, facing each other tomorrow, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Now that the men’s basketball tournament has entered the deep end of the season, a crucial clash between second-seeded UP and third-seeded UE will headline tomorrow’s jam-packed Wednesday slate. 

Given the present tight rankings, both teams can still lower one other’s ranking. The Red Warriors may drop UP to 7-2 in win-loss record, while the Fighting Maroons can drop UE to 5-4.

Welcome to the second round

UP opened the second round with a huge win by defeating UST 83-73. Meanwhile, UE is coming off a 68-77 loss to DLSU, which snapped their five-game winning streak on October 12. 

Looking back in their first round matchup, the Fighting Maroons were able to escape the Red Warriors, averting an almost late-game comeback by the latter squad, 81-71, to maintain their previous spotless record.

Nonetheless, the second round of the UAAP is an entirely different kind of competition. Even Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde understands that his players must remain as hungry as they were.

“We have to be consistent with what we’ve always said noong first round — responding to the challenge at hand, especially against a team like UE,” said UP head tactician Monteverde.

Battle of the Birds

Aside from the UE-UP match, UAAP fans may look forward to another exciting game, the ‘Battle of the Birds’ between the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles and Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons. 

The Blue Eagles and Soaring Falcons will square off in a battle with significant ramifications for the last Final Four berth. The winner of the game will tie with the UST Growling Tigers for fourth place, 4-6.

Following a dismal 1-6 finish in the first round, ADMU upset NU and UST to keep its Final Four hopes alive. After missing the playoffs in 2013, the well-decorated team have advanced to the next round for the past nine years. 

Meanwhile, the Blue Eagles upset the Soaring Falcons, 60-51, in their opening round matchup on September 21, snapping the former team’s three-game losing streak, their worst start in 11 years.

“Winning does take some pressure off, it does relieve things a bit,” Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin “But we’re really trying to mature a lot of younger players, a lot of players that lack significant experience.”

“These guys deserve to enjoy them because, in the next practice, the focus is going to be on maturation and evolution and development with a view to winning more games.”

The Falcons, who also have a 3-6 record, have lost four straight. To make matters worse, Adamson is coming off a 45-70 loss to defending champions DLSU Green Archers last Saturday.

Tomorrow’s vital ‘Battle of the Birds’ between ADMU and AdU will begin at 3:30 PM, while the similarly crucial face off between UE and UP will start at 6:30 PM. All of these games will be hosted at the MOA Arena.